Filthy Music Review - 'Eye of Solitude: Canto III'

Eye of Solitude – Canto III (2013)

Kaotoxin Records

Review by Jude Felton

If I am completely honest, I’m getting a little pissed off with Kaotoxin Records. It seems that every five minutes they are releasing a new record that I have to get my hands on, and it’s getting very expensive. Sure, I have the digital copies of most of the recent releases, but I am a collector, and thus need to have a physical copy. Now we have the new album from funeral doom monsters Eye of Solitude; a release that I have been anticipating ever since being destroyed by their previous album, Sui Caedere.

I’ll get straight to the good news; Canto III destroys on just about every level, and is an absolute masterpiece of an album. The UK based band could quite easily have just churned out Sui Caedere Pt. 2, and that would have no doubt made a lot of folk happy. Instead though, they have not only expanded their sound, they have improved further still in the songwriting department and delivered a concept album that reaches the very highs and lows of human emotion.

After an incredibly gentle and beautiful opening to the album, Canto III comes in to crush you at the 3 minute mark, and never lets up in its hour plus running time. At times the music is wonderfully melancholy, with spoken passages that just reek of despair, then it will pummel you with music that is so damned heavy you stand a good chance of suffocating beneath its immense weight.

What Eye of Solitude has also incorporated into their sound is a more noticeable orchestral element, along with some clean singing on occasion. This works perfectly opposite Daniel Neagoe’s thoroughly monstrous vocal delivery, and only further adds to the diversity here. Also evident is the incorporation of black and death metal elements, which should come as no real surprise, considering Eye of Solitude feature members of Kaotoxin label mates Sidious.

These black and death elements fit perfectly within the context of the complexity of the music and never stand out as foreign objects within the bigger picture. Canto III is an album that demands several listens to fully take in, as there is a lot going on, but the rewards are great. It will take you down into the very pits of despair and crush you without mercy, before lifting you back up again. Whilst listening to this album it came across more of an epic, gothic horror story, rather than purely a musical voyage, as you follow the story contained within.

Canto III should be the album that elevates Eye of Solitude up further into the public consciousness and certainly cements them as one of the most impressive bands out there. Sui Caedere impressed the hell out of me; Canto III totally kicked my ass. It's an album that is grandiose, yet intimate and you can xpect to see it feature near the top of my year end list, as if I gave my reviews marks out of ten, Canto III would get top marks. 

Track List:

1. Act I: Between Two Worlds (Occularis Infernum)
2. Act II: Where the Descent Began 
3. Act III: He Who Willingly Suffers
4. Act IV: The Pathway Had Been Lost 
5. Act V: I Sat in Silence 
6. Act VI: In the Desert Vast 

Canto III is released by Kaotoxin Records on November 25th and can be ordered here.