Echoes
We were recently sent through details of Winchester based Echoes, letting us know about their EP, With An Eye On The Shoreline & A Hand To The Sea. Formed in 2010, Echoes have created their sound by taking a range of influences from Metal, Hardcore and Post Rock through to Classical. Described as a ‘sweeping soundscape’, the album roves from heavy to soft within moments, meaning this could potentially be something very very interesting!
Opening with Leaving None Behind, the track seems to build around you as it grows, starting atmospheric before launching into a distorted mix of raw power and melodic symphonies. The sound pulls you in from the start, working its way into your head and getting you clawing for the rewind button to experience it all over again, crafting a sound which does indeed draw on influences, but firmly comes across as their own. The most surprising element is perhaps the vocals, opting for a gravelly roar rather than smoother vocals to back the backing music – it’s a brave move but one which the band seem to have pulled off. Powerful and tinged with emotion from start to finish, this track verges on the cinematic approach of the likes of The Coming Dawn, combining elements to create a sound which is powerful, unique and most of all, enthralling.
Moving into Rivers, gone is the soft and smooth opening, instead launching straight into a powerful riff fuelled hammering melee of guitars, sludgy bass and pounding drums. Moving from all out power to soft and restrained atmospheric style notes, the track seems to shift through different modes as it progresses, one minute throwing out all of the aggression and anger you’d expect from a metal band, the next offering up enough symphonic melody to satisfy an auditorium of classical fans, it’s a very very clever mix. It’s moments like this which make this track so memorable, making it one which stands out as one hell of an accomplishment as well as an incredibly well-crafted piece of music, something which a lot of people need to check out.
Closing with Safe It Seems, there’s one last chance to witness first hand the power and ferocity of these guys, launching you into a dramatic mix of hammering guitar lines, powerful drumming and those deceptive vocals. The whole mix once again seems to build around you, engulfing you in their sound and forcing you to listen along with them, throwing wave after wave of power and melody at you. The track may well close this EP for me, but what it also does is make me want to hear a lot more from these guys. This final hurrah here is an example of what a band can do when they work together to craft their own sound, and it’s awesome.
Echoes are a band who incorporate a lot into their music, which sometimes can lead to the sound being confused or the album not working, but in the case of this EP that doesn’t happen. The heavy melts into the softer side of things, the whole thing working as a unit to craft tracks which you don’t just listen to, you involve yourself in. This is music which is going to make you think, going to test you and going to encourage you to push yourself to new places, and this is just the EP!
To find out more about Echoes, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Opening with Leaving None Behind, the track seems to build around you as it grows, starting atmospheric before launching into a distorted mix of raw power and melodic symphonies. The sound pulls you in from the start, working its way into your head and getting you clawing for the rewind button to experience it all over again, crafting a sound which does indeed draw on influences, but firmly comes across as their own. The most surprising element is perhaps the vocals, opting for a gravelly roar rather than smoother vocals to back the backing music – it’s a brave move but one which the band seem to have pulled off. Powerful and tinged with emotion from start to finish, this track verges on the cinematic approach of the likes of The Coming Dawn, combining elements to create a sound which is powerful, unique and most of all, enthralling.
Moving into Rivers, gone is the soft and smooth opening, instead launching straight into a powerful riff fuelled hammering melee of guitars, sludgy bass and pounding drums. Moving from all out power to soft and restrained atmospheric style notes, the track seems to shift through different modes as it progresses, one minute throwing out all of the aggression and anger you’d expect from a metal band, the next offering up enough symphonic melody to satisfy an auditorium of classical fans, it’s a very very clever mix. It’s moments like this which make this track so memorable, making it one which stands out as one hell of an accomplishment as well as an incredibly well-crafted piece of music, something which a lot of people need to check out.
Closing with Safe It Seems, there’s one last chance to witness first hand the power and ferocity of these guys, launching you into a dramatic mix of hammering guitar lines, powerful drumming and those deceptive vocals. The whole mix once again seems to build around you, engulfing you in their sound and forcing you to listen along with them, throwing wave after wave of power and melody at you. The track may well close this EP for me, but what it also does is make me want to hear a lot more from these guys. This final hurrah here is an example of what a band can do when they work together to craft their own sound, and it’s awesome.
Echoes are a band who incorporate a lot into their music, which sometimes can lead to the sound being confused or the album not working, but in the case of this EP that doesn’t happen. The heavy melts into the softer side of things, the whole thing working as a unit to craft tracks which you don’t just listen to, you involve yourself in. This is music which is going to make you think, going to test you and going to encourage you to push yourself to new places, and this is just the EP!
To find out more about Echoes, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls