Eyes Set To Kill
Every few years, music needs afacelift. And like a phoenix, its saviorrises from the stale ashes of the newly dead scene to revitalize fans with afresh sound. The new phoenix rises fromTempe, Arizona under the moniker EyesSet to Kill. Set to release Reach their debut effort on BreakSilenceRecords on February 19, 2008, Eyes Setto Kill is poised to make a serious dent in the music industry throughtheir online presence and gritty do it yourself road dog mentality.
Formed in 2004 by sisters Alexia andAnissa Rodriguez, Eyes Set to Kill have moved forward with huge strides quicklyand not so quietly over the past three and a half years. Joining Alexia(vocals, lead guitar, piano) and Anissa (bass) and rounding out the five-piece arescreamer and synth keyboardist Brandon Anderson, second guitarist Greg Kerwinand drummer Caleb Clifton.
Eyes Set toKill have sold more than 11,000 copies of their EP When Silence is Broken The Night Is Torn and DVD, A Day With Eyes Set to Kill combined,with the former reaching #2 and the latter #1 on the popular online retailersmartpunk.com and limited retail availability.
Eyes Set to Kill built their solid reputation throughaggressive online marketing and constant fan interaction. Marked as MySpace’s number one unsigned bandfor more than ten months, and landing in the top ten of all independent bands, Eyes Set to Kill successfully bookedtheir first tour through the popular web site. Since their first trek across America, they have supported platinumselling artists Papa Roach, (hed)p.e., Kittie, hardcore pioneers Walls of Jericho and the up and coming In This Moment as well as playedvarious stints on the Vans Warped Tour in 2006.
While the ‘zona based five piececontrasts melodic vocals with screams, the intent was never to follow a formulathat previously worked for other bands. Rather, they wanted to add unique elements. “We didn’t want to be just another screamoband, we wanted to do something different,” comments Alexia on the band’s formation. “We wanted to have the same kind of passionand fire that the bands we loved had, but still have our own sound.” And one listen to Reach further punctuates Alexia’s remarks.
As can be expected, Reach exhibits a more mature Eyes Set to Kill – more mature in itssongwriting and its lyrics. As theprimary lyricist, Alexia tackles themes such as frustration and anxiety,relationships, isolation and correcting one’s past. Alexia shows a woman well beyond her youngyears throughout Reach; she shows asongwriter that writes differently than the rest, pushing boundaries lyricallywhen possible.
“Only Holding On,” for example, is a battlebetween Alexia’s outer self and her conscience shown through the song’s verses,while the chorus is a third voice, her band, trying to ground her once again inthe real reasons she performs music.
Lights dim down we're the stars tonightour voices bring slight wind to the sky. (Their voices sing along.) Feel theirsouls lift with ours as they share the night. But you sing a different song.
"Young Blood Spills Tonight,” deals with thepain of divorce told from the perspectives of Alexia and her mother.
Sipmy blood till there's no blood left to spill from my neck. I'm embraced by aconcealed grip I welcomed in my arms.
Rife with conflict and juxtaposing thatconflict with promise, Reach is not ateenage angst-ridden twenty first century response to the Seattle scene of thenineties. And it’s more than a teenagecoming of age story. Reach is the world’s welcome to a youngband with a fresh voice. “The album issymbolic of what we want to achieve with our music. Most of the songs are about overcoming theobstacles that everyone faces in life. We hope that our music reaches out to the listener and can help themovercome some of the same issues that we’ve had to deal with in our lives,”Alexia notes, pointing to the more promising themes in the music. “We want to let people know that they canrise above the problems they face in their life; if our music can be thatcatalyst in someone’s life then that’s amazing.”
Listen to the record, analyze thelyrics, and go see Eyes Set to Killlive. They won’t disappoint.
