Eudaemon "Spiritual Anguish" Album Review
Review by: Justin Spenner, Writer @bari_spen
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @melodicnoisemedia
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I’d like to say that Eudaemon is a band that looks you in the eye when they shake your hand, but really it looks more like a lil’ sheepishly askance wave. It’s just enough to break through the nervous shroud the band sonically cultivates with their Blackened Midwest Emo-Metal sound.
Spiritual Anguish, their debut album, is an invitation into the very ruminations that fuel such understated greetings. Have you ever replayed your day to determine if anyone could tell how sad/anxious you actually are? Well, the album is made up of the diary entries from when you realized that they all could tell— it’s just that they don’t care.
The album as a whole is expansive; even on multiple listens I was surprised at how it continues to unfold. It’s a testament to Eudaemon’s songwriting, apparently a band effort, which plays like an homage to memories of bygone rec center basements, Pure Volume profiles, and the Warped Tour side stages in the good good years. Whoever you just thought of, Spiritual Anguish has a riff for you.
One last remark before breaking down (circle pitting?) the tracks: Adam Tucker (Signature Tone Studios) did right by the band, achieving saw-tooth grit and a polished-stone master while letting each member shine in their own turn.
The Short
“Possession Audition” and “Silt” both clock in under 5 minutes and feature a non-stop full-band barrage propelled by galloping blast beats from drummer Peter Korhonen and an undulating murmur from bassist Meridian Shanewood. The immaculately in-synch guitar wall of Andi Landsem and Ella Smith is on full display here, providing a riff-lord web for Andi’s emphatic screechings about the betrayal and impermanence of the body. Also, Eudaemon, I got the movie reference. Thanks for the nausea.
The Mid
Three tracks pass the 6 minute mark, and they are true gems of songwriting- a reason I’m a fan of Eudaemon in the first place. “Karst” opens with a Blackened Country shuffle, building into a dirge buried 24-feet-under by the most delicious double-kick accents I’ve heard since 2009. Black metal ensues. “Empty Hallways” and “Basalt” are rich proof of dynamics in metal, washing the listener in nuanced pedal-work, intricate riffs, bass grooves, clean vocals, and clockwork drum pummels. Also, of note here are the crushingly economic lyrics, which distill eviscerating emotions into their smallest parts.
The Looong Boi
The only reason I separated this into length is because “In Mirrors” is over 12 minutes long. It’s a progressive chamber piece that opens with a wash of hymnal guitar chords before the band kicks in to accompany an extended, haunting melody (beautifully sung, btw). What follows is a relentless build into possibly the heaviest riffs on the album, before collapsing, exhausted, into a final lingering chord. Personally, after completing the album, I can relate.
The beauty of this album lies in its calculated meandering, a winding through dynamic soundscapes full of blink-and-you-miss-it nuance. Complex, ever-changing riffs and snarly bass grooves beg a relisten, even as the tension of relentless beats and anguished wails tethers the ear to finish the album. Buy this record, it’s worth at least 8 spins - from experience.
Eudaemon’s web presence lists them on hiatus, but that may just be because all the members absolutely slaughter in their other projects. So, keep your eyes and ears alert to catch this band in the future, or keep up with the individual members. Follow Eudaemon at: Instagram, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify and for the love of local music, grab some Merch.
