Francine Boucher - Vocals
Brandon Patton - Guitars
Brian Eagle - Guitars
Kirk Carrison - Drums
Duane Cowan - Bass
Judging by the bosomy promo shots of Canadian-born singer Francine Boucher that were released preceding Echoes of Eternity’s debut The Forgotten Goddess (images that would make any warm-blooded heterosexual male shake at the knees), one could be forgiven for having anticipated a gimmicky band lacking substance. Low and behold, Echoes of Eternity proved themselves with stellar Megadeth-inspired musicianship and powerful female melodic vocals. The songwriting, however, wasn’t on par with the band’s technical prowess, and with As Shadows Burn, while the band has improved immensely on this front, the progression has been limited.
Seamlessly running the gamut between razor sharp contemporary thrash, progressive metal and melodic death metal, Echoes of Eternity rely heavily on the strengths of Boucher’s melodic vocals—ethereal, smooth and avoiding of the melodramatic absurdity that plagues many female-fronted, European-styled gothic metal bands. Sometimes they provide an interesting contrast (indeed, many bands would be wise to take note of the fact that melodic vocals can, in fact, work quite well with aggressive music), yet at others the music is in need of angrier vocal stylings.
Occasionally layering tense, unsettling jagged riffs upon the backbone of drummer Kirk Carrison’s jackhammer double bass assault, intense their music can certainly be. The overly clinical execution evidenced with their debut still hasn’t been shaken yet, but, presumably due to Logan Mader’s assistance behind the mixing board, there is a much more organic feel emitting through the sounds of As Shadows Burn.
http://heavymetal.about.com
