Beastmaker - Eye Of The Storm

Release date February 21/19 (Bandcamp)

Haunt has been drumming up some considerable trad metal cred with their recent spate of releases (two full lengths and an EP since August of 2018). So not sure how guitarist/vocalist Trevor William Church and bassist John Tucker had time to put together a release during that same time period under the Beastmaker moniker, entitled Eye Of The Storm.

What we have is a 4-track, 17-minute EP that undeniably contains the trademark Haunt melody that everyone seems to be connecting with, as a result of Church's distinctive vocals and the twin guitar refrains. However, Beastmaker utilize doom metal as the delivery mechanism here instead. Personally, I find the doom offsets some of the sweetness of Haunt's material, finding this a much more inspired and consumable product.

Highlights would be the headbanging 'Shadows', a doom classic in waiting, and 'My Only Wish', which incorporates Iron Maiden-style guitar refrains with a strident stomp of a riff. Here's hoping that the lads continue to partition some of their time for the Beastmaker venture in the future.

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