Maybe you do know the band Toxic Napalm, even though they did not release anything important at all. Anyway, they started in 2010, but in 2012 these Dutch guys changed their moniker into Ecocide. I guess it was because of their change of style, and the release of a demo which was called Ecocide… Doesn’t matter, Ecocide (i.e. bass player / vocalist Rick, guitarist / singer Sten, and drummer bas), returned to the studio in order to record their first full length, which they self-released in Summer 2013. Then Disharmonic Records, also hailing from the Netherlands, picked them up to re-release the Eye Of Wicked Sight full length debut album.
Eye Of Wicked Sight, which lasts for thirty four minutes, starts with the short, pretty weird introductional song Multiverse, but then it offers seven bold songs à la the Lowlands’ grotesquery. And let’s start with quite some controversy. I read about this band being a Thrash band with some Death Metal elements. Well, forget it. What a nonsense it is. Ecocide are a Death Metal act, a very clear Dutch-oriented death Metal act, with some Thrash-influences. I do not understand that statement (I guess some reviewers base themselves on what they read, instead of what they hear – f*ck them, bunch of losers!). Anyway, Ecocide bring a timeless, yet strongly Old School-influenced / -inspired form of traditional Death Metal (the Dutch tradition), with elements of Thrash Metal (as mentioned before) and hint of Doom-Death Metal. It sounds like some kind of low-profile Death Metal with a focus on technical riffing without progressive exaggeration, and a focus rather on the vocal lines and riffs than memorable compositions as a whole. Nice is the balance in between the different speeds, which come with a mostly natural flair: mainly fierce and mid-tempo, sometimes with a doomish attitude, then again blasting in fierce aggression.
Most of the time acts like Bolt Thrower, Sinister or Six Feet Under (though…) come to mind, with hints of Jungle Rot, Grind Minded, Obituary, God Dethroned, Incantation and Asphyx. And damn, it might not be as impressive as those (cult) bands, but for sure Eye Of Wicked Sight will please any sick-head that appreciates at least one of higher mentioned combos. It’s not just a stupid statement; it’s a promise…