TITANS EVE

One metal act that should be hitting your radar if it hasn't already is Canadian thrashers TITANS EVE. Now through two full-lengths and one EP, the future is theirs if they can reap a sizable enough audience and hook a worldwide deal. Already they've scored opening gigs for ANVIL and KORN, the latter of whom should be praised for giving a true metal act their shot at major exposure. There may be a gazillion metal bands out there, but there's an undeniable hunger presiding in TITANS EVE that's hard to dismiss.

The sophomore album from TITANS EVE, "Life Apocalypse" is a tempest. It seldom slows and it's to the band's credit they know how far to push and make a statement then summon back their typhoon to leave their listeners breathless. Clocking in around forty minutes, "Life Apocalypse" leaps far ahead of its already aggressive predecessor, "The Divine Equal". While "Life Apocalypse" was reportedly written quicker and with a more intended carnage effect, it's evident TITANS EVE is out to make an impression from cover to body. The stunning and cataclysmic artwork from Bj?rn Gooses is no fluke. "Life Apocalypse" crashes down with a pummeling spirit it's almost exhausting by the time "The Void" strides to finish.

Rare is the album that carries through a primary drive with near-fleeting deviation and it doesn't grow stale. While "Life Apocalypse" largely stays in double-hammer mode, TITANS EVE wields a demonstrative air of pounding that's sure to win many metal fans over.

These guys are just a click away from true greatness. Already they possess fearsome blast inferno capacities from Casey Ory, whose ankles might never quit even while sleeping. Bassist Jesse Hord brings a disciplined low-end rumble and to hear him and Ory playing in isolation is probably a hellafun session. However, the marquee men for TITANS EVE are Brian and Kyle Gamblin. Spectacular shredding and soloing are prevalent all over "Life Apocalypse" and these two are sure to be talked about in future days.

While TITANS EVE weaves an appreciable nod to MAIDEN on the bridge of "Hollow Gods", mostly these guys are about thrash and death metal, albeit it's hard not to feel these guys are well-influenced by the early and later years of their fellow countrymen ANVIL. The ceaseless blitzing by Casey Ory has Robb Reiner written all over him and that's not a bad thing, since TITANS EVE has the tact to weave some NWOBHM flair and Scandinavian death odes into their cranking and spanking maneuvers. Brian Gamblin's hardcore-esque vocals are a whole dynamic unto themselves.

"Overcast", "Destined to Die", "Road to Ruin", "Divided We Fall" and "The Abyss" are some of the fastest and fiercest metal tracks you'll hear this year but the grace of Gamblin's gorgeous solos and riff variations keeps the songs from bleeding too much into one another. The album's true moment of grandeur, however, comes on the perversely seductive instrumental, "A Wound That Never Heals". Decorated with percussion, acoustic gales, chamber instruments and a tempered synth, "A Wound That Never Heals" is a textural and haunted respite from the tireless boom of the remainder of the album.

"Hollow Gods", "Frozen in Time" and "The Void" show TITANS EVE more willing to deviate from the full frontal onslaught of the earlier tracks on "Life Apocalypse", and though occasionally choppy, they prove this band is well on their way towards something magnificent if they stay true to their tasks.