EAGLE TWIN (The Feather Tipped The Serpent's Scale) 2LP/CD
EAGLE TWIN's new output is the follow-up to their 2009 debut album 'The Unkindness Of Crows'. Slight waves of feedback and throat-singing start the album before the drums propel the thick layers of fuzzy and bass-heavy guitar forward and build a shape-shifting colossus that stumbles forth and pulsates with heavy riffs and melodies. This is what any fan of EAGLE TWIN craves for and you won't be disappointed for almost an hour of music. The riffs flow flawless into each other, sewn together by the slow marching drumming. Gentry Densley's guitar sound is indeed in a class of its own, deep and warm with heavy distortion, but very smooth and listenable and incorporates a surprising amount of melody into all the heaviness. His low, chant-like vocals accompany the music very well, adding much to the hypnotic and haunting atmosphere.
The drums of Tyler Smith come along very big and powerful, and he plays with great taste of where to give room and where to add details and ornaments to the heavy wall of fuzz created by Densley. The overall sound of this album is great, a good job done by producer Randall Dunn, you can let yourself get covered by their guitar sound, you'll be as happy as a pig in mud! While listening to the album, I had to think of OM as well as POMBAGIRA, who seem to be an obvious comparison for a drums/guitar-duo, but I have to admit EAGLE TWIN are much more diverse and entertaining. They don't make the mistake to just drone on and on, even if they are completely indulged in noise, they find a nice riff or chord change to roll on and have you get hooked immediately again.
Unfortunately the promo package contained no lyric sheet, but the promo sheet does reveal that the lyrical theme continues where their previous album left off, the crows lost their battle against the sun and are punished to live back on earth as snakes. The songs easily catch up with this mythical lyrical content, an album containing a song title like 'It Came To Pass The Great Snake Grew And Grew Until His Mighty Antlers Could Not Be Sustained So He Turned In Upon Himself And With A Great Thunder His Spine Pushed Up The Mountains And Gave Birth To Lightning And The Horns Pierced His Side And Became Trees And Branches The Tips Broke Off And Became Birds And Flew' can't be that bad, right?
Despite the length of the songs, there is a load of diversity despite EAGLE TWIN's minimal approach with only guitar, drums and vocals. Besides that, their riffs are just plain awesome. I just can't point out any songs as highlights, because this album is such a monolith of an hour-long slow-pounding, melodic heaviness, topped off by hypnotic vocal delivery that each song is a monumental part of the whole. This album is definitely an epic win - sorry, an eagle twin! Well - it's both!
(Steve Albino)