My Silent Wake – Eye Of The Needle – Album Review

Source // My Silent Wake

Recorded in 2014 but finally receiving a CD release at the tail end of 2015, Eye Of The Needle see’s the UK’s My Silent Wake siphoning their ‘Sabbathian’ death/doom through undulating and repetitive waves of layered sound and ambient experimentalism.

World-building instead of chest-beating, metal machismo is dropped in favour of groaning atmospherics, unnerving yet tranquil scenes played out via sustained cycles of repetitive rhythm that wash over you; darkened heart emotion engulfing the senses and maintaining a transcendent state throughout.

“Solitudo” plays out like a nightmarish march into territory’s unknown, the kind of instrumental that could act as the backdrop to a Lord Of The Rings style epic while the eerie, whispered tones of “Hunting Season II” – a funeral doom repatriation minus the growls – hypnotises with insistent strokes; a hymn to hushed, barely contained malevolence masquerading as sweet lullaby. Each track seamlessly segues into the next, a blinking, partially lit journey through the mist that offers remorseful respite but not without unearthing unrecognisable terrors alone the way.

Surprising and scintillating in equal measure, Eye Of The Needle is not the sort of album we would normally find ourselves listening to but it will appeal to metal fans who appreciate that ‘heavy’ music doesn’t always have to revolve around blast beats and crushing riffs.

You could try sleeping to this but expect some fucked-up nightmares! 8/10