We sure do get a surprise from Spain. Madrid based band ETERNAL PSYCHO have released their second album entitled "Trail of Agony". This female fronted group brings us nothing new for 2022 but a breath of fresh air. This record would have really kicked ass 20 years ago. Modern industrial metal at its peak. Although back then a lot of puritans condemned this style, it was exactly what the scene needed. Of course now the fans are looking for a lot more arsty-eclectic approach. This product is not in need for something like that. People looking for a very straight forward approach will dig this album. Production wise this is very outdated, but chorus wise it's very catchy and enjoyable.

Vocals lines are so catchy from the opening song "Cristallized" that you will get your hopes up from the start. The mix of clean versus growling is not at all original but it does its job. Guitars, bass and drums are very common and the keys so expired that you tend to fall into the trap of love it or leave it. The chorus still does a great job and so you have high expectations from "Empty of promises" that throws you into metal madness without any gratification. "Faster than Light" proves that riffs rule without having a real bass player. Cheap keyboard samples with screechy vocals are a downside of this album that could have proved to be a game changer for 2000. Better too late than never is the actual name for this band, but still good for Latin Europe. Recycled samples seem to surface on every track. Lead vocals have been copied to please our ears and the rhythm guitar with male growls have been studied from the masters of the genre.

"Pestilence" will caress your ears and so will "Religion" in a mediocre way. The question is: how long can a band pull it off using these cheap methods. Clean female vocals remember us of Anneke van Giersbergen's style but get washed up within the whole mix. Lack of originality will not help this band pull it through. Stamina is what will make them prevail. We've been dealing with a lot of female fronted bands lately. Unfortunately not the best quality has been delivered. Mediocrity rules over politically correctness and that will not produce a lot of low quality results. ETERNAL PSYCHO are just one band having a go at it.  Give it a spin and it might spin you!