Eye of Nix – Moros
See, this is what we like, people. Let’s explain something here tangentially before even getting into the review. When a band takes the time to send us something on vinyl, cassette, CD-R, floppy disc, we don’t care, we appreciate it. Why ? Because it shows the band cares about their work enough to put some money and time into it. Being totally serious here, we have over 2000-3000 promo emails in our account on any given week, which means if you go that route you have about a 1 in 100 chance of getting an actual review. We sample, we shake our heads, we put into the digital trash. With tangible things, that’s much more difficult, we get a sickening pain in our sides, a “how could you do that?” feeling of guilt if we don’t at least give a full listen. These days everyone wants everything, and they want it for free, shared on Facebook, Twitter, maybe Buzzfeed if they’re desperate. But nothing says more than a band taking the time to send us a Goddamned record for Christ’s sake. Get a clue. Of course it costs money! That’s what promotion is about, jeez, put some effort into it, maybe you’ll see results. Anyway, Eye of Nix we’ve been eying up since we encountered them in a cassette feature from awhile back, with their unique blend of metal and exotic witchery.
That’s because Eye of Nix is interested in more than a one-dimensional take on the theme of “the witch” as is so readily found in metal, or anyone seeking to be so very eerie, and doing a brief search of just metal bands brings up at least 123 that use the term ‘witch’ like a kid picking marshmallows out of Lucky Charms. Keep eating, that’s right, eat until you realize they no longer have a taste, because it will happen you mark our words and mark them good. Eye of Nix is more subtle about their sorceress worship, it’s under the surface, it’s an aesthetic, not a mask worn but once a year. Getting their name from the legendary goddess of night, they’ve been playing around their homeland of Seattle and the west coast this past year, riding to the sabbath on the broomstick that is Moros, which has managed to capture our attention far more than the usual, and not just because they sent us the actual vinyl. Don’t forget, along with our hinting above, if you’re not the least bit creative, we probably won’t pay attention much, no matter how you send your material.
But Eye of Nix have got that, and they’ve created a form of experimental metal that is accessible at the same time that it is arcane. The album title itself, Moros, is a further extension of the thematic approach, being one of the spawn of their chosen goddess, and in some versions of the myth conceived without a father. So think of each member of this band as something akin, because their wide variety of musical backgrounds comes together like so many mythical children. Considering the amount of diversity here, it’s almost surprising it didn’t fail, as we often see with so-called “super” groups. Though this isn’t the same idea, often when you put folks together with differing backgrounds and skills to match, it becomes a mess. But, if anything is proven succinctly with Moros, it’s that a good lead can draw it all together like a spell weaver. Joy Von Spain has made a career out of singing, and even considered a stint as a concert pianist, and that particular style works exceedingly well for Eye of Nix. She’s the Circe to the cup of poison, the Morgan Le Fay to Guinevere, hell with it let’s just say the Hecate to all witchery in the world. There’s a quiescent calm that flows over much of Moros, brought outward into moments of inspiration like an oracle huffing fumes from the bowels of the earth and then shrieking and wailing, sometimes in operatics, at onlookers who dare discern her meaning. One would expect difficulty in going from one musical style to another, but Eye of Nix have created a logical flow where the listener forgets from whence they came. Spellbinding is the word.
Written by Stanley Stepanic
Eye of Nix: Moros
Belief Mower Records
4.6 / 5
