EYES SET TO KILL | Eyes Set To Kill | Album Review

In what seems to be mostly a male-centered genre, you'd be surprised to find a ton of female-fronted rock and metal groups that aren't just in it for the attractiveness. One of those names that comes along with a bevy of recent examples like Letters From The Fire and Tonight Alive is the band Eyes Set To Kill. Containing elements of post-hardcore, metalcore, and alternative metal, Eyes Set To Kill have been releasing albums for over a decade but have not seemed to get the attention they truly deserved until just recently. It is truly surprising considering the fact that female fronted bands in heavy music have the tendency to blow up whether it be the gothic stylings of Lacuna Coil and Evanescence to more radio-ready bands like Halestorm. The slight difference with Eyes Set To Kill is that two females are in the band, with Alexia Rodriguez as the singer and lead guitarist and new member Comron Fouladi as the bassist, a position that originally belonged to Alexia's sister Anissa before she left in 2016. Now, with a new vision in their horizons, Eyes Set To Kill are set with their self-titled album, which is their sixth overall problem, and what's alluring is how this band attempts to evolve in a big way in the nearly five years after their last effort "Masks" in 2013. 

Fans of Eye Set To Kill have understandably waited for a new album from the four-piece band since 2017 with the release of the album's first single, "Break". Despite taking things in a much more vague direction that can be appreciative by many people, I am not so sure that this song really hits the spot as much as it aspires to. The song unexpectedly starts with the title being belted out as the riffs and melodic verses and choruses come soon after that, and while there is potential here, I don't think that "Break" has much of a standout quality to it that really comes across as a highlight track for the record it's being released off of. The current single, "Not Sorry", which was unveiled shortly after the album announcement, has much more of a likability to it as sort of a breakup song mixed in a hard-rock veneer, and it works. What makes this song even more unique is that it doesn't kick off with a guitar riff that then leads to the first verse. The opening of this track builds up to the first verse which, while features expected songwriting, has a nice flow to it that keeps you coming back to hear it, not to mention Alexia's vocals have depth to them. This sort of connection between hard rock and metal that you get with this album is present on not just these two tracks, but the rest of the album in general, and that's what is to be expected throughout this self-titled record.

The first half of the disc is where things really shine. Of course, both of the singles are in this portion of the record so that is a contributing factor, but I feel like tracks like "Die Trying" and "Survive" have a nice punch, "Die Trying" in particular having a nu-metal coating that makes it stand out, while "Survive" having a surprisingly aggressive performance from Alexia. None of this implies that the second half of the album, especially after the first five tracks including the somewhat unneeded minute-long introduction "Burn Down" is bad, but there are more forgettable tracks that are hard to ignore. Tracks like "Devastated", "Letting Go", and "Voices" don't have a lot of staying power and I'm struggling to remember what these songs sound like without actually playing them. With that said, there's still some salvageable stuff in the second half such as album highlights "Saved You With A Lie", "Drift Away", and "Misery", all of which are great tracks, especially in "Saved You With A Lie" where the vocal performance is fantastic and the production is top notch. Even in a track like "Never Forget" which seems so cliched in the lyrical department to the point of parody, still features so very well connected riffage and rhythms that make it worth checking out despite its lyrical flaws. 

Some fans may be a little disappointed in the fact that the heavier sound of the band's previous works as well as the scream vocals are not present on this album as much, if at all. Only glimmers and minuscule shades of that show up on this album, with the track "Misery" being a good example of this with its double-kick drum verses that grab you by the neck, and the guitarwork being very meaty and strong. The gnarly production of the guitars serves as a replacement to the more metalcore nature of albums like "Broken Frames" and "The World Outside", but it's totally something not to ignore as the material that this album features on it does make the attempt to have something to offer. While Eyes Set To Kill's self-titled offering isn't exactly changing lanes or traversing new territories in terms of style, I don't think that's needed quite as much in this case as they are a tight collection of songs. If you're a fan of any of the female-fronted bands mentioned in this review, let this one be another worthy band to your favorite bands roster, and even if you're a fan of this style of hard rock or alternative metal there is a lot of stuff to really pick and choose from this album that you'll really like and appreciate.

RATING: 7/10

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.