It's commonplace to see bands change greatly from who they were when they first started their musical journey, and the change for Eighteen Visions is a massive one in Orange County's metalcore scene.

Their final album, a self titled release, makes the band almost unrecognizable from the early works of Until The Ink Runs Out and The Best Of, however, if the listener can appreciate new sounds, then this new music is not a bad thing at all.

The band has fallen back musically since the release of Obsession in 2004; their strongest album, which cast them into the metalcore spotlight, but this latest record is still a very worthy effort. A short album, it sees the band explore new musical places they had never been before. From the many layers of vocals and chanting, to the almost compulsory slow track Broken Hearted, a new band has obviously emerged. It just happened to be that this "new" band broke up only eight months after the album's release.

Song selection on this album is brilliant. A wide variety of sounds spans half an hour of an intimate listening experience. The order of the songs compliments this even more. With the engaging introduction "Our Darkest Days" repetitively tearing it's way into the album's benchmark song, "Victim," a healthy start is definately evident. Following this is a small group of bouncy sounding rock songs, perfectly followed by Broken Hearted, which splits the album in two. The interest is then restarted with the next set of heavier rock songs, beginning with Another Pretty Suicide. The album is then finalized with a mellow Tonightless, capping off one captivating listening experience.

The whole album has a very polished feel, as though everything has been worked to perfection, which is probably the case. This is a big leap from the older albums, where the songs sounded more direct and raw, but now, alot of work has been done to ensure sounds as perfect as possible.

There are no notable blunders on this album whatsoever. There are some brilliant highlights though. Vocalist James Hart's voice is impeccable throughout the whole album, and peaks during Our Darkest Days. The drum work on this album is a stand-out. Whether it is the most talented drumming or not is no concern, because, regardless, it has been put together very well and is a wonderful sound for this band.

Best songs on this album are Our Darkest Days and Tonightless, which happens to be the first and last songs respectively. They work brilliantly on either end of the album, and are great standalone songs too.

This latest album by Eighteen Visions is not their best work, understandably so when the standards of Obsession are through the roof, but is definately a very strong effort. The band has gained many new fans with this last effort, disappointed by their sudden and unexpected break-up.

Kudos to you, Eighteen Visions - may the band rest in peace, and good luck to you all with whatever you choose to pursue for the rest of your lives.

Posted 11th June 2007 by Tranlette
Updated Sunday, 30 October, 2011 3:47 PM