I am like a magpie when it comes to bright colours and cool graphics, so in the first instance this is what lured me towards The Eternal Sea. Incredible album art that jumps out at you and draws you in. I didn’t know what they sounded like, or who they were up until a few months ago, it just started with that image of what I thought was a Mermaid, (but clearly isn’t when you see in CD insert) which triggered a sequence of events that has led me here.
“In The Kingdom of The Blind, The One Eyed Man is King”
I first found out The Eternal Sea was a local Tauranga band when my mate Ian who plays in another local band or two, popped up as their Bass guitarist, then as these things have a way of turning out I soon became friends with two more members of the band, yet I still had not actually heard a lot of their music, just a few snippets. As fate would have it the chance to photograph them live was delivered to me a couple of weeks ago as part of a four band line-up, let’s just say it was pretty impressive, a few of the band members may have changed since the CD was released two years ago, but the energy is still there. That’s another story. Another review. Then one dark and stormy day, this CD appears in my letter box, and the lady who could have been a mermaid looked up at me.
From the Eternal Sea she rises.
It is pretty obvious from the first track that this is a “rock powerhouse”, who’s influences of Alice In Chains, Tool, and Deftones are pretty evident, there are some powerful vocals coming from Mark Wright; melodic and dramatic which match the intense and sometimes dark lyrics perfectly. He wrote all tracks on this album bar one; number 13 a very clever rendition of Home by the Sea from Genesis. Was it the intention to put this song at number 13? this album is so clever it would not have surprised me. Allusions to prophecy are dotted throughout the album; the words tell stories that intertwine with each other taking you to the depths of despair and back again.
Perhaps I hear the slaying of demons in this album.
The instrumentation is brooding and atmospheric, it seamlessly compliments the vocals. This is extremely creative, well-engineered powerful rock music, 13 tracks, each one nailing the stake and claiming their bit of musical turf.
The album heralds in a formidable presence, washed in by The Eternal Sea.
The Eternal Sea is a four-piece rock powerhouse from Tauranga, who have been compared in style to A Perfect Circle, Tool, Deftones and Alice In Chains.