The Annihilation of Expectation

The Knife Trade/Through The Eyes Of The Dead
Annihilation Of Expectation



Two bands that seem to be earning a lot of fans and respect (The Knife Trade and Through The Eyes Of The Dead) come together on this release to bring some new tracks to you for one easy price. And honestly, it's a pretty good deal.

The first half features The Knife Trade, is by the lesser known act The Knife Trade. The band is pretty much your standard melodic death meets metalcore band. The three songs after "Intro" are still entertaining and feature some decent In Flames-esque riff work. "Resurrection" is a pretty good track, but again, it sounds about the same as "The Silent Life" and "Mortification Under Scarlet Skies". However, the tide changes with "Off With Their Heads" which just features horrible screaming, even worse tone-deaf singing, and even far worse group chanting fromt he vocalist's former band Another Broken Vehicle.

Through The Eyes Of The Dead take control for the second half, and things definitely pick up. "Abyssal Creation" kicks off the band's music, however the screaming vocals seem rather odd compared to the rest of the material, and may very well turn some listeners off. However, don't be discouraged. "Reconstruction Of The Female Anatomy" and "Eratic Perception" (the latter being the best off the release) are simply stunning and brutal. "Truest Shade Of Crimson" is a pretty well written song as well, which feels a little more brutal, but holds a rather over used feel to it as far as the music goes on much of it. But then again, since it's a slower track, what can you really do with it anyhow?

With the exception of the two intro tracks leaving this release at only seven songs and an abomination track ("Off With Their Heads" by The Knife Trade), this split CD is pretty good. The Knife Trade won't make much of an impact, but the tracks done by Through The Eyes Of The Dead definitly make the release worth the purchase. It's just a shame that this band did not have more tracks on it.