This is the debut album from US metal band Caustic Echoes.
The Passing of Moonlight contains 50 minutes of well-written melodic metal. The style is one that combines elements of old and new, from 90s nu-metal and heavy metal, and 00s European metal and metalcore, to more contemporary influences.
Caustic Echoes combine their influences well, not overtly favouring one over another, and instead blending them into a sort of semi-timeless style that I’d loosely place around the mid-00s on average. There’s certainly more older elements here than ultra modern ones, but not to the extent that the band sound like a throwback or retro. There’s also an Ozzy Osbourne cover tacked onto the end of the album. It’s well-done, but like most cover songs is ultimately superfluous, so if you treat this as just a bonus song then we actually get 45 minutes of original material on The Passing of Moonlight.
The songs are energetic and within their stylistic framework show a good grasp of variety and dynamics. A common shortfall of this sort of music is every track sounding very similar, with basically the same structure. While Caustic Echoes aren’t Mr. Bungle, they do still vary the pace and feel of the songs as you move through the album quite well.
Melody is a key component of Caustic Echoes’ sound. It’s not overly used to the point of saturation, but it’s an important weapon in their arsenal and it’s wielded well. Many of the leads and solos are enjoyably delivered. All aspects of the music are well-crafted though, but I particularly like the drumming, as this is a bit more nuanced and inventive in places than is the norm.
I really like the singer’s voice, which I’m very happy to report as this is frequently a weak link in this style. Not here, however. His harsh vocals are blunt and strong, while his clean singing demonstrates good range and depth.
Although still rough around the edges, The Passing of Moonlight is a good entrance for Caustic Echoes into the wider metal realms. I could easily imagine this being the stepping stone to them being picked up by a decent record label and unleashing an even more professional and accomplished second album. Until then though, The Passing of Moonlight has a lot to recommend itself in its own right.
Highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 