Self-released, 2008

All You Can Eat is the brand-new album of the Austrian metal band called Ekpyrosis. The band has been active for more than 20 years now, but they have been much underrated most of the time, living their life in the deep metal underground of Austria. All You Can Eat, double disc, can only change partly this fact as there are some interesting and quite demanding moves taken by the band here. So, let’s start this review with some positive notes. First I want to highlight the clever musical arrangements showing the wide musical interest of these guys. The vocals are very strong and powerful containing both melancholic and to times depressive mood but also harmonic parts accompanied by numerous beautiful acoustic passages. It simply fits perfectly together, and what is more astonishing is the fact that it all sounds so natural and as something that comes easy to the band. Guitar riffs are also amazing, with some raging and hard ones, more than you would otherwise expect from your average let’s say Power metal band.

“Side A” as the first CD is called contains 8 songs with average length of app. 5 minutes each, which means that they are just long enough so that you’re not bored; not even for a moment. “Side B” is of the same length and the same number of tracks, but somehow less interesting than the first part. When it comes to the lyrics; the spectrum of those ranges from almost bizarre and surrealistic & odd ones to some contemporary and socially aware ones. It is obvious that those five musicians are not afraid to take a clear stand, both musically and politically, always on the side of the minority groups. It is refreshing and liberating, as rock music has always been about rebellion and challenging/questioning the establishment. Production is modern and vibrant yet not so polished that it gets disgusting like in many other cases in the later years. On the less positive note I would express my doubt if it was really necessary to release a double disc of the songs that are not so different from each another? The same goes for the cover artwork, which in my opinion is not ‘catchy’ enough and not matching the overall concept of the album. But it is about everything you’ll hear me say negative about this strong Austrian unit and their latest effort.
The quality and the musicianship is not a topic of the discussion and numerous support gigs for among others Deep Purple, Paul Di’Anno, Kreator, Metal Church etc. are the proof of the top-notch quality of this honest and dedicated band. For any additional info please go to www.ekpyrosis.com