{"id":39533,"date":"2015-11-30T15:00:10","date_gmt":"2015-11-30T21:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/?p=39533"},"modified":"2015-11-30T15:56:00","modified_gmt":"2015-11-30T21:56:00","slug":"review-turbid-north-eyes-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/review-turbid-north-eyes-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Turbid North \u2013 Eyes Alive"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tex-Alaskan mountain metallers Turbid North are back with their sophomore album.<\/p>\n

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Turbid North<\/strong> occupy a very special place in my grim heart. I absolutely fell in love with their previous\u00a0record, 2010’s Orogeny<\/em>. The seamless blend of Morbid Angel<\/strong>-esque death metal with sludge and progressive elements drawn from the hallowed halls of the Southern Georgia metal tradition (Mastodon<\/strong> and Baroness<\/strong> are key influences here) was a formula that immediately attracted me. The debut further\u00a0upped the ante with some harmonized guitar dueling that would make Thin Lizzy<\/strong> proud and a number of genuinely poignant moments that could make even the most burly of cavemen weep. Pair these sonic attributes with a thematic concept about survival in the harshest Alaskan climes and it is no wonder how Orogeny<\/em> and I became hetero life-mates so quickly.<\/p>\n

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The <\/i>Eyes Alive line-up: Chris O’Toole, Nick Forkel, and Jono Garrett<\/i><\/p>\n

However, after five years without a new record and a significant line-up change (losing a singer and a rhythm guitarist), the Texan\/Alaskan\/British band’s future was in question. And just to prove how very wrong my doubt was, Turbid North came back with a goddamned vengeance this November with Eyes Alive<\/em>, their third\u00a0album released via the band’s own The Pyramid<\/strong> label.<\/p>\n

Eyes Alive<\/em> is, for existing fans, a perfect follow-up to Orogeny<\/em>; and for new listeners, it is a great starting point, distilling all of the elements that made the debut album fantastic into a succinct and compelling listen. The album roars out of the gates with the aggressive death metal-oriented title track. Later in the same track, the sludgy southern breakdown recalls Crowbar<\/strong> or Kingdom of Sorrow<\/strong> \u2014 featuring a selection of prime riffage that would make Kirk Windstein<\/strong> jealous. The next track, “The Pyramid Drones,” really showcases the vocal prowess that the album puts on display. Guitarist Nick Forkel has stepped up to the plate for vocal duties (as well as being the group’s principal songwriter) out of necessity, but one would never be able to tell. His singing oscillates from pitched cavemen shouting to pissed-off death growls, to John Baizley<\/strong>-esque harmonies, to Phil Anselmo<\/strong> signature wailing throughout the album’s nine songs. Forkel executes all of these styles with admirable skill and swagger whilst still treading his own path.<\/p>\n