Label: Century Media Records
Review by Tony Cannella
The Montreal based melodic death metal outfit The Agonist suffered a huge loss when front woman Alissa White-Gluz left to join Swedish thrashers Arch Enemy. Obviously it can be a bit tricky (and scrutinizing) to change singers but the band could not have found a better replacement (in my estimation) than Chicago’s own Vicky Psarakis. Now with their new singer in place, The Agonist have released one of the most anticipated albums in recent memory… and it is a good – no make that a great one! Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for “Eyes of Providence”.
Vicky’s style fits right in with the band. She can sing the extreme stuff, she can sing the clean stuff and the band doesn’t miss a beat. The 60-minute album is just ferocious and intense pretty much from start-to-finish. The 13-song CD runs the gamut between being beautiful, melodic and brutal and everything in between. I can’t think of many weak moments. The album begins with a barrage of riffs on the great opening track “Gates of Horn and Ivory”. This is classic The Agonist and a great opening song. Vicky sings mostly in her extreme style but switches to clean singing on the chorus. “My Witness, Your Victim” is a frenzied thrash metal track and instantly became a favorite. Throughout “Eyes of Providence”, the song writing and musicianship is excellent. “Danse Macabre” is a great melodic thrash metal track. Other highlights include: “I Endeavor”, “Faceless Messenger”, the ballad “A Gentle Disease” and the awesome 8-minute “As Above, So Below” which closes the record.
It’s hard to imagine The Agonist making a better choice of lead singers and a lot of the focus will be on Vicky Psarakis; rest assured, she is a great selection to front the band. “Eyes of Providence” is proof that The Agonist are back, better than ever and beyond my expectations.
Rating – 95/100
Tracklist
- Gates Of Horn And Ivory
- My Witness, Your Victim
- Danse Macabre
- I Endeavor
- Faceless Messenger
- Perpetual Notion
- A Necessary Evil
- Architects Hallucinate
- Disconnect Me
- The Perfect Embodiment
- A Gentle Disease
- Follow The Crossed Line
- As Above, So Below
Line Up
- Vicky Psarakis – Vocals
- Pascal Jobin – Guitars
- Danny Marino – Guitars
- Chris Kells – Bass
- Simon McKay – Drums