We’re glad to announce that Dulliken, Switzerland-based metal band Ophelia’s Eye have released their debut album, entitled Hopeless World.
Ophelia’s Eye are Corinne Ryter (rhythm guitar), Remo Lemp (lead guitar), Michel Egloff-Sieber (vocals), Sandro Suter (bass), and Stefan Bijkerk (drums). Their band name is based on the character Olimpia from the novel “The Sandman” by E.T.A. Hoffmann; in the story, the character Nathanael is enchanted by Olimpia and begins to lose connection to reality—and in a similar way, through their music Ophelia’s Eye aim to cast an entrancing spell over the audience.
After releasing singles throughout 2021 including “Speak Words of Destruction” (our review here), “Fight for Us” (our review here), and “The Demon behind My Mind” (our review here), Ophelia’s Eye returned in April 2022 with their debut album, Hopeless World. The album explores a number of difficult situations, from suicide, misused trust, divisiveness, envy, greed and selfishness; and all the songs abound with energy—some with engaging melodic riffs and some with astute melancholy.
Hopeless World begins with the compelling opening lead guitar riff of “My Honor,” underscored by powerful sustained distortion. Fast and aggressive rhythms from the drums soon join in along with deep bass notes and distorted rhythm guitar progressions to create a heavy yet intuitively melodic sound. The growled vocals that enter during the first verse add a commanding presence that, along with the rapid-precision drumming, are characteristic of death metal; while the song’s captivating guitar solos and chord progressions add a brilliant sense of melodicism to the track.
“Fuck my Trust” then begins with a majestic guitar riff that is yet with an undercurrent of melancholy, setting a bleak atmosphere for the song. Despite the track’s upbeat tempo and energetic guitar-driven passages, its dark melodies nonetheless capture a somber mood throughout that perfectly complements the song’s sorrowful lyrics. Next is the title track, “Hopeless World,” which similarly bears a melancholic feel as appropriately gloomy chord progressions accompany the lyrics concerning tribulations of current times (pandemics, economic crises, domestic violence, etc.); it’s quite a dynamic track, with slower tempos during the introspective verses and faster drumming during the anthemic choruses.
“Human Abyss” is laden with bold guitar riffs as well as technical rhythms from the bass and drums, which are at times complemented nicely by aggressive growled vocals; while the potent next track, “I’m explosive,” is driven by an incendiary repeating riff and features tempo shifts that function perfectly to advance the track’s catchy melodies. “Pain and Sorrow” then closes the album, with captivating distorted chord progressions and compelling vocal passages driven by complex rhythms from the drums.
Hopeless World is quite an impressive debut album for Ophelia’s Eye; even as they tackle serious lyrical themes, their music remains consistently engaging and enjoyable from the beginning of the album to its end. The band’s brilliant songwriting and superb musicianship once again shine on their debut album, bringing a uniquely heavy and melodic sound that fans of subgenres such as death metal and metalcore alike will undoubtedly be glad to discover.
Don’t forget to support this project and to follow on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, SoundCloud, YouTube, and Spotify. You can also check out their official website. If you enjoy their art and are able to provide monetary support, you can download their music on Bandcamp or for virtual concerts you can go to songkick “Live from their sofa to yours”.
It also helps to stream and share their music; you can obviously find it in the following Playlists: Less Than 1,000 Followers, Sickest & Dopest, and Hot Stuff Metal.
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you can subscribe to this blog Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists that we have presented here!!!
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Music enthusiast and Phish fan, who especially enjoys listening to stoner-, psychedelic-, and space rock