Opheon – As I Walk With Fire

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A very promising release from the Brummy four-piece…

Reviewed by Nathan Daniel

Unsigned

Release date: 4 April 2015

Heavy Brummy four-piece Opheon are completely new to me and may well be unknown to you too. That’s not to say though that they aren’t worth your attention – my God, they are. As I Walk With Fire is their second EP and opens with the vicious title track. It tears open with the raucous screams of Liam O’Sullivan before diving head first into some pretty unrelenting double bass and a melee of brutal riffs. Influences from the likes of Gojira, Machine Head and Trivium are particularly evident and that’s what makes the opener so damn powerful. After a barrage of hardcore vocals, a towering chorus butts in from time to time. It gives clarity to the chaos and fits right in; an occurring theme throughout the EP.

‘Shackles Remain’ pretty much carries on from where ‘As I Walk With Fire’ left off. It’s heavy, but a little more matured. It progresses through a widdly-diddly guitar solo that far surpasses Opheon’s experience alongside some frankly brilliant harmonies. ‘The Distance’ is the EP’s finest track though. It houses the release’s best hook and is just so exciting to listen to. It has an excitement similar to that of Bullet For My Valentine’s very early material. ‘A Portrait of Self Hate’ offers a similar calibre and is also responsible for a lovely little breakdown, with ‘Lost In Undertow’ rounding things off if in fine style. ‘The Answer’, however, is by far the EP’s weakest link. Slow ones can be a fine addition, but in this case, it just isn’t. It’s rather bland and just drags a little. A shame, but it doesn’t at all spoil what is an otherwise very promising release.

As I Walk With Fire is essentially an amalgamation of fine string-work, the perfect juxtaposition of hard as fuck screams and soaring cleans and a backdrop of brutal, crashing drums. Opheon are coming to cement themselves as part of the ever-growing and flourishing young UK metal scene.

Opheon - EP20158 out of 10

Track listing:

  1. As I Walk With Fire
  2. Shackles Remain
  3. The Distance
  4. A Portrait of Self Hate
  5. The Answer
  6. Lost In Undertow