Welcome back to Question of the Week, a semi-regular series where we take a look at something you need to know about in the world of, at least so far, music and music alone. Last time, we dissected what made Deafheaven's lead single from their new album Infinite Granite called "Great Mass of Color." This time, it's a band you may not have known about prior to reading their name in the title. Let's dig in.
Eidola are a band from Utah, of all places, who have an expansive sound that blends prog rock and metalcore. There's probably a few bands that come to mind when you hear those two genres together, like Protest the Hero, Secret and Whisper, or newer acts like Hail the Sun or Night Verses. Eidola have these same elements, but there's a bit of something special to this band. That's likely due to the band's frontman Andrew Michael Wells, whose vocal range is up there with any of those signature scene voices we've heard over the years. The band recently announced their fourth full-length album called The Architect will be out in September on Rise Records, after an agonizing wait since their 2017 release To Speak, To Listen. The announcement launched with preorders and the album's first single "Counterfeit Shrines," a blistering track from start to finish. Eidola was a band whose name I'd heard a few times, but never checked out until now. Thanks to "Counterfeit Shrines," I'm all-in on this band and this record. I think you should be too, but there's likely a question that will follow: Why should you care about Eidola?
First and foremost, let's talk about the quality of this music. Even if you skip "Counterfeit Shrines" and opt for the band's earlier material, it won't take more than a few listens to a few songs to determine that this is a band filled with talented musicians. Their talents afford them the ability to be extremely creative in their sound, and as a result they really don't sound like any other band out there. I've already mentioned Wells's impressive vocal range, but he's certainly matched by the guitars of Sergio Medina and Matthew Domer and the rhythm section of bassist James Johnson and drummer Matthew Hansen. Hansen's drumming shines throughout "Counterfeit Shrines," and Domer's screamed vocals add a nice flair as they're interspersed throughout the track.
Eidola's been around for a while, as their four full-length discography would indicate, but they've been around a long time. With their self-released debut The Great Glass Elephant in 2012, they caught the eye of Will Swan, who signed them to his Rise imprint Blue Swan records, where To Speak, To Listen and 2015's Degeneraterra were released. The label was recently announced to be acquired by Rise and their distribution company, an exceedingly long task that found The Architect in its crosshairs. Throw in a global pandemic (COVID-19, ever heard of it?), and Eidola were forced to sit on perhaps the most pivotal album of their career far longer than they expected.
Wells has been able to keep himself busy during this time, however, as many fans will recognize him as the sixth member onstage when scene legends Dance Gavin Dance perform. He plays guitar (a sign that he assuredly helps out with the writing of Eidola's guitars as well) and provides backing vocals for Tilian Pearson, and is always top-notch at both. Wells has also appeared on the last two DGD albums as well, providing a refrain on Mothership's closing track "Evaporate" and completely taking over in the middle of Artificial Selection's "Nothing Shameful," each time showing off that impressive range I keep going back to. Eidola actually had a few dates in 2020, as they opened for the Scary Kids Scaring Kids The City Sleeps In Flames anniversary tour before live music's shutdown in March. The band's touring void for 2021 has been filled, however, as they've been added to the long-awaited Afterburner Tour featuring Dance Gavin Dance, Veil of Maya, and more. With SKSK and DGD onboard as supporters, hopefully you can see how well-respected this band is, even if you won't take my word for it.
The hype is building for Eidola, and they sure seem to be capitalizing on it with a well-prepared rollout of The Architect. The album's artwork is striking, featuring a specially-designed mask that make the Architect in question an almost-mythical character. Preorder packages have been launched, and each vinyl variant is a true marvel. Even the clothing, typically a meat-and-potatoes line featuring the album's artwork, shows a great attention to detail and care. Whether it was the backing of Rise Records or the extra time the band have had to prepare for this album, the attention to detail is evident.
There are going to be a lot of bands that have a larger stature than Eidola who announce an album to be released this year, and while their efforts are well worth your time, Eidola is not a name you should forget about. By the time The Architect is released in September, it'll likely have two or three more singles released, and by then it's possible that they'll be in the discussion for a lot of album of the year lists. They're going to be a huge hit on Dance Gavin Dance's fall tour, and after that, who knows what kind of momentum they'll have. So, to circle back to our initial question: why should you care about Eidola? Well, because this is a bandwagon you'll want to hop on as early as possible.
The Architect is now available for preorder HERE.
Other questions considered for this week:
-Is there a number of Home Run Derbies that Pete Alonso can win that will guarantee he gets into the Baseball Hall of Fame, regardless of what his career statistics are? -What would Stephen A. Smith have to say for ESPN to actually fire him?
-There's no way Space Jam: A New Legacy is actually going to be good, right?
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