E.P. Review: Tantivy - Eyes In the Night
Reviewed by Richard Oliver
Eyes In The Night is the debut E.P. from Wisconsin duo Tantivy. The band is made up of Adam Geurink (of crust punk band Wardehns) on vocals, guitars & bass and Jon Zimick on the drums.
The band are named after an archaic word meaning a rapid gallop or ride which is very appropriate as the E.P. is a rip-roaring blast of traditional heavy metal. It is made up of five fist pumping metal anthems played with great passion, a huge amount of energy and at breakneck speed. The sound harks back to the early 1980’s with a big influence from giants such as Motörhead and Judas Priest whilst the speed of the music and the riffing style owes to the early thrash and speed metal bands. The vocals by Adam Geurink are in a very rough and gruff style which has nods to punk but there is a certain degree of melodicism used but the rough style works well with the gritty nature of the music. Songs such as 'I Am The Wolf', 'Daggers' and 'Cut Em Loose' are bursting at the seams with energy and remain as catchy and anthemic as they are heavy and gnarly. The recording has a raw edge to it but it is nicely mixed and all instrumentation and vocals are mixed evenly.
Tantivy join a legion of bands throwing back to the heavy metal of yesteryear but they do it in great style and are a welcome addition to the growing legion of bands in the New Wave Of Traditional Heavy Metal movement. 'Eyes In The Night' is a short, sharp kick to the face oozing with passion and love for the heavy metal of yesteryear. A very promising debut release.
