R.I.P. Eyes of Fire

by beatmasterspeech (LA)

When I was considering moving to LA (aka Smog City, aka Look-At-Me City, aka I-Have-More-Money-Than-Most-Small-Countries City), I knew I'd need a job so I began checking out LA-based independent metal labels. First stop was Century Media. It was the year twenty-oh-three, and CM was offering a free digital EP from Eyes of Fire, complete with artwork which fans could print and cut to size, giving birth to their own tangible copy. It was a cool and, at the time, progressive way to get the word out about this new band featuring former members of Mindrot. Not too long after CM offered up the free goodies, Eyes of Fire released their first full-length, Ashes To Embers.

Download: Eyes of Fire - "Hopeless" [MP3]
Buy: Eyes of Fire - Ashes to Embers [Amazon]

Ashes to Embers should have gotten more attention than it did. With two vocalists and songs ranging from crunchy hardcore-ish doom to clean drifting melodies, there was plenty on the record one could take a liking to. What made Eyes of Fire unique was the contrast of harsh growls to not-over-produced clean singing. Ashes To Embers earned the band spots on a few decent tours but they still had a long way to go in order to get the attention they really deserved.

After drummer John Haddad departed to focus on his studio skills (he has since produced Intronaut and Abysmal Dawn), he was replaced by Nick Bernardi and the bros kept on marching. The next offering from these reinvigorated dudes from OC would be their masterpiece. Released in 2006, Prisons is epic!

Download: Eyes of Fire - "Blood (This Consumes You)" [MP3]
Download: Eyes of Fire - "Falling Apart" [MP3]
Buy: Eyes of Fire - Prisons [Amazon]

The band's sound had gained a raw aspect, the wandering riffs became even more catchy (but in a doom and despair way, no cheese here y'all) and newcomer Bernardi displayed power behind the kit. Prisons had the crust and doom that I knew Eyes of Fire was capable of. Then, much to my dismay, due to typical band struggles Eyes of Fire called it quits rather abruptly.

After the split, Bernardi and guitarist/vocalist Dan Kaufman started a project called The Angels Whispered Danger. It’s rather minimalist, shoegaze-y type music from what I’ve heard lately. Definitely not as angry as EoF but still interesting. And as for bassist/vocalist Matt Fisher, you can now find him tweaking knobs in the studio with John Haddad.

If you have any interest in down-tempo heaviness and the like, do yourself a favor and give Eyes of Fire’s Prisons a chance. And maybe in 10 years they’ll get super popular and get back together for a reunion tour... we can only hope.

Eyes of Fire - "It All Dies Today":