Before we further belabor that point, let’s note the evolution of Eternal Storm’s sound since their impressive 2019 debut Come the Tide. Where that record was first and foremost melodeath that leaned progressive, A Giant Bound to Fall has fully succumbed to the Opethification that comes for all such bands. First track “The Abyss of Unreason” stands as a thesis statement for what these Spaniards are going for on this outing, sprawling out over 13 minutes of riffs that remain pleasantly melodic, multiple textural wrinkles that include some saxomophone and electronic beeps and bleeps, and no fewer than three false endings before all is said and done. A Giant Bound to Fall has reversed the poles to prog first, melodeath second, while retaining the skillful musicianship of Come the Tide. The production is noticeably clean and slick. This would normally turn me off a bit, but it makes sense here given the textural sound experiments that permeate the album.
There’s a lot to like about the new sonic territories Eternal Storm stake out. The melodic riffs go down smooth on tracks like “The Abyss of Unreason” and “Last Refuge,” while the one-two punch of album standouts “The Sleepers” and “The Void” highlight a multi-layered vocal approach of harmonized cleans that can drone and soar in turn, as well as throat shredding death roars and vein-popping shrieks that edge into -core territory. “The Void” hits especially hard, taking the central melody and chorus of “The Sleepers” and setting it on fire with an aggression only hinted at in previous songs. Strategically placed throughout A Giant Bound to Fall are those electronic flourishes and surprising instrumental transitions mentioned above. Case in point is the final 30 seconds of “Last Refuge” with its whooshing synths and vocoder-like vocals that bleed into the gorgeously simple piano line that opens instrumental interlude “The Eclipse.”
Eternal Storm’s 2019 debut Come the Tide wasn’t exactly short at 59 minutes, but it had a natural flow that never tried my patience. Unfortunately, this is not the case with A Giant Bound to Fall. There’s fat to trim throughout, even in songs I really like. Cutting thirty seconds here or there would help this record feel like less of a chore, but there are two stretches in particular that set my mind wandering. While “There Was a Wall” is relatively short at five minutes, its mid-paced meandering is noticeably weaker than the material that comes before it. “Last Refuge” then starts off strong with easy riffing and a path-of-least-resistance flow until the back half falls off a cliff and into four full minutes of uninspired, repetitive chugging that kills any momentum stone-dead. Nothing that follows is as bad as that stretch, but the nearly 10-minute “Lone Tree Domain” is so interchangeable with a track like “A Dim Illusion” that it could be cut completely.
Eternal Storm haven’t lost any of the talent that made Come the Tide a surprise hit five years ago, but if they thought such a long gap between releases necessitated including more material by volume on A Giant Bound to Fall, I’m afraid I’d have to disagree. There’s some fantastic material here, but as Bilbo would say, it’s “like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.” Prog nerds will likely find little problem with the new musical direction, so mileage may vary. As for me, I’ll remain the voice in the wilderness decrying bloated runtimes, even when the music is good.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Websites: eternalstormdm.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/eternalstormofficial
Releases Worldwide: February 16th, 2024
