Monday 24 June 2013

Eternal Champion - The Last King of Pictdom (2013) | 78%

The making of a champion


America, the land of opportunities. You can either choose to play awful metalcore, retro trhash, old school death or anything else that was or will become trendy or you can follow into the footsteps of ''no fucks given'' legends. Eternal Champion managed to truly establish its sound with their first demo, this 2 songs and 9 minutes tape. Praising the divine words of Manilla Road, they're succeeding at penetrating the epic metal scene with ease. I always liked the American epic heavy/power scene and this band while keeping things safe, they're very enjoyable. Fans of both USPM and epic metal, add them to your list and expect a massive first album in some years.

I remembered why I'm not a fan of singles or short Eps while reviewing this release, I wanted more !! 2 songs is definitely not enough when it's that good. The production for a first demo is impressive and professional, a proof that modernity in metal has its benefits. Jason Tarpey has a very nice voice, powerful when needed and high when he wants to. His clean delivery is hard to compare, it's  a bit similar to Mike Scalzi of Slough Feg. He's a good singer and the production suits his vocals better than his other band, Graven Rite (composed of Ancient Vvisdom members, ewwww!) They play a proggier version of epic metal with some Fates Warning influences, it's ok ! Eternal Champion on the other hand plays a fast paced brand of epic heavy/power metal not altogether dissimilar from the the heydays of Mark Shelton's beloved project and the aforementioned Slough Feg.

Yeah, they opened for Manilla Road for their
first show! Epic as fuck!
Their lyrical themes are awesome and they're what you're expecting from an epic metal band, it's all about Howard and Moorcock here and that's toally fine with me. It's always fun to hear about Elric and it's never getting old. Both songs are your standard 4 minutes and it works well. There's nice leads and a rich musical background that can recall the European epic scene with their Doomsword and company. The songs are very good but they feel incomplete, they could be at least 2 minutes longer without losing any of their punchy attitude. In fact, that's what the band is intending to do based on an interview I read and that's certainly got me excited as I usually prefer the longer songs.

There's cool leads such as the one in the second track but the songs could be even more intricate and complex while keeping the feel of epicness. It's not very atmosheric and it could be fleshed out. Nevertheless, this band took me by surprise and I wasn't expecting grand things and even though they're still at the first stage of their evolution, the future is promising. The songwriting, effective and without flourish, is captivating and catchy but leaves a ''gimme more'' taste in my mouth. I'll anxiously wait for a full length from these guys. 

Listen to the 2 songs on Youtube!

The tape is sold out, I think but a a 7'' will be out soon too !

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