No Man Eyes - 'Hollow Man'

Debut from the Italian band.

This is the debut from the Italian band. It's a mixture of molten metal genres all boiled up in one fat pot. The most prevalent genre is Power Metal. This is due in part to the dark, heavy chugging guitar riffs but more so for the fat, widdly guitar solos.

Andrew Spane does a good job with the neo-classical soloing, and Alessandro Aborno's bass gallops like the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. 'SW4QW (Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars)' and 'Costantinopolis' are good examples of their no-nonsense Metal tendencies, and 'Isolation' stands out as one of the stronger hooks on the record. A lot of Power Metal bands have a backward eye cast on the classic Metal bands of the past, but No.Man.Eyes have a modern energy almost hardcore in places.



However, that isn't the whole story; Michele Pintus' drums steam roll through the record. He could easily sit behind the drum kit for a much heavier band. Fabio Carmotti's vocals are pretty good, devoid of accent. He carries the tune, but where many Power Metal bands will stack up the power on the choruses for full effect, here Carmotti often takes the chorus alone or merely double tracked, meaning the songs don't always build to quite the crescendo they should. It gives a rougher, rawer feel to the songs than a more polished studio enhanced production would. However you feel the band are happy to pursue this direction and although there are heavy metal and thrash influences from the 80's it has a more modern, darker heart. This is reflected in the lyrics that have a dark underbelly and the furrowed brow of much modern metal.

If you're partial to bands like Nevermore then No Man Eyes provide enough punishing groove to be at least mildly diverting.

Duncan Jamieson