The regular version of “Eyes of Soul” contains 10 songs, most of them fast paced with a few ballads mixed in (The Japanese version contains one bonus track). The first thing I noticed when listening to this album are the abilities of vocalist André Ferrari. He shows a strong vocal range, with the capability to hit the high note when necessary, without being overly annoying. The guitar work is also very good, which is to be expected on an album of this nature (Of course there are also plenty of those love em or hate em over-the-top moments) The overall message on the record seems to be an inspirational one as the band tends to focus on uplifting themes on songs like “Eagle of The Sun” and “Just a Miracle”. We even have an interesting cover of “Alone” from the US female band Heart. Now I am not sure that sounds too appealing to many metal-heads out there, and to be honest upon hearing this I was pretty skeptical. However, this is one of those albums that will grow on you with repeated listens and I began to appreciate the characteristics of this band the more I listened, because indeed the technical skill is quite good. Still though, at this point, the songwriting seems to be lacking that little something necessary to get to the next level. It should be interesting to see if the guys can solidify their sound a bit on the follow up, as they are certainly capable. Overall, “Eyes of Soul” is not at all a bad debut, but will be mostly appreciated by serious fans of the genre.

written by Joe Grammatico

Playing time: 42.33