Ophelia’s Eye – Fight For Us EP
Self-Released
Release Date: 07/08/2021
Running Time: 11:08
Review By Beth Jones
7/10
Switzerland is my favourite country in the world. I used to go out there every summer to visit my uncle and cousins, and we had many fun times. It’s also the place where I went to my first festival – the Paleo Festival in Nyon, in 1999. So, I get a particular warm, fuzzy, nice memory type feeling when anything Swiss pops onto my radar. And when that Swiss thing is a metal band, that adds an extra layer to my joy. Today’s subject are Swiss Melodic Death Metallers, Ophelia’s Eye, with their new EP “Fight For Us” – Yay! Swiss things!! Ahhhhh!
Ophelia’s Eye are pretty much a brand-new band to pop onto the scene, having only appeared in this guise in 2020, with a line-up, name, and sound that they were happy with. Interesting back story with the name. They were originally called Project Penny, then Red Fire Dragon, but didn’t think either of those suited their style, so changed their name to Ophelia’s Eye after taking inspiration from a novel called “The Sandman” by E. T. A. Hoffmann.
They have made a name for themselves on the underground scene, but this little three track EP serves as an introduction from them to the wider metal world. And what a good little listen it is.
The title track comes first, starting with what sounds like a classic heavy metal riff. But then we’re hit with the brutal vocals of Michel, which take it firmly into the realms of Melodic Death. Influences like Killswitch Engage and Arch Enemy are at the forefront of their sound, but there is much classic riffing, and less technical fiddling, which to be honest isn’t a bad thing. It makes the sound unique. And blimey can Michel growl!! Chilling.
‘Speak Words Of Destruction’ follows much the same path, but there are some really catchy hooks in this too, along with a great instrumental middle section and nice guitar work, which is followed by a growl of potential world record length! Impressive.
The final track, ‘Ophelia’s Eye’ starts off in a slower and more lilting fashion – lovely clean guitar sounds, in a minor key. But soon the epic screaming vocals kick in and everything gets that little punchier and dark! Again, superb riffing is the driver in this song, which has a real groove. It’s certainly an intriguing mix of styles, which I find very satisfying.
My only qualm is there’s not enough here to get a real feel for the true extent of this band. The three songs are rhythmically pretty similar, and I think another couple of songs would have added a little more flavour to the EP.
That said, this is clearly a very tidy accomplishment from an exciting band who I think have a lot more to show us. And they’re Swiss! Happy days. I look forward to hearing more by them.
‘Speak Words Of Destruction’ (Audio)
TRACKLISTING:
01.Fight For Us
02. Speak Words Of Destruction
03. Ophelia’s Eye
LINE-UP:
Michel Egloff-Sieber – Vocals
Remo Lemp – Lead Guitar
Corinne Ryter – Rhythm Guitar
Marco Schweizer – Drums
Sandro Suter – Bass
LINKS:
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