Power Thrashing Mad
Power Thrash, the mixing of the intensity and aggression of thrash metal with the melody and cheese of power metal. Perhaps it's destined to be the next big thing when metal-core and screamo bite the dust. Bands such as Nevermore and Mercenary can be considered 'power thrash' and now Eidolon hope to sit amongst the genre's leaders with their new slab of steel, 'The Parallel Otherworld.'
Eidolon's big claim to fame is they are Megadeth, not all of Megadeth however, but drummer and guitarist Glen and Shawn Drover have been in Megadeth since 2004. This isn't the greatest claim to fame, it's not as if they are part of the twenty year Megadeth legacy. After checking the credits on the last Megadeth album, 'The System has Failed' and the Drover's lack thereof, it is obvious that Glen and Shawn are simply Mustaine's hired guns. Whether they'll still be in Megadeth in a couple of year time remains to be seen. Mustaine's reputation for hiring and firing may put pay to their Megadeth aspirations, but one listen to Eidolon and you realise why they were chosen for Megadeth. If their future isn't under the wing of big Dave Mustaine then at least they have a tidy setup to fall back on.
Eidolon are an interesting band. The musicianship on 'The Parallel Otherworld is admirable with Glen's shredding occasionally sounding like the great Loomis himself. Ex Pagan's mind vocalist Nils K. Rue joins the Eidolon fray and it's obvious why he was chosen for Pagan's mind in the first place. His clear and powerful voice is perfect for power metal and in his upper register gives an aura of Geoff Tate in his youth. Shawn Drover's Drums are solid and the commendable production helps them stand out, even if he's not doing anything too technical. Eidolon have the tools in the garage to create music of merit and be a tour-de-force in metal circles. All that's left is the writing itself which, unfortunately, has its problems.
The Parallel Otherworld isn't an easy listen, the album is empty of any instantly likeable sections of music. Even after two weeks I still can't list the stand out tracks, nor can I sing with any of them because there's nothing in any of the songs that gives them their own identity. (And when I say identity I mean there aren't any catchy hooks, riffs or choruses) Each number sounds like pieces of other songs sellotaped together. The classic structure of verse chorus verse chorus solo chorus end, or other slight variations on this theme, is largely forgotten as Eidolon take a leaf out of Dream Theater's meandering song-writing book. There's nothing wrong with writing different sections of course, but the tried and tried and tested verse chorus structure hasn't been adopted by thousands of acts all over the world for no reason.
This doesn't make the music bad, just a bit messy and lacking direction. Certainly after many listens the tracks were starting to come together, but for the time it may take listeners to understand the album they may have moved on to something else. But there is something about 'The Parallel Otherworld' that kept me coming back to it. Maybe it was the individual ideas that were more appealing rather than the songs themselves, for example, the opening riffs of 'Arcturus #9' and 'Spirit Sanctuary' are of a high standard, plus the change at 4:10 in 'The Eternal Call' is pretty slick. But the songs from which they came aren't really greater than the sum of their parts, and I think this is the crux of the matter with this long player.
There is no better description of this album than 'A solid slab of metal.' I can see Eidolon fitting in that group of dependable bands, such as Iced Earth, Beyond Fear, Hammerfall, Dream Evil etc... who have a dedicated fan base but fail to reach the upper echelons of metal royalty. 'The Parallel Otherworld' does entice the interest however. Although a far from perfect album, I do have the urge to dip into their back catalogue to see where the band has come from and how they've progressed over the years. I wish them well with 'The Parallel Otherworld' and Megadeth and I hope they can pick up some song-writing tips on cohesiveness from Dave himself, for I think this would improve this band immensely.
Ok, now where the hell do I get some of their older material?