17th April 2022

Review: “Hopeless World” by Ophelia’s Eye

“On this LP, we dealt with a number of difficult situations, from suicide, misused trust, divisiveness, envy, greed and selfishness. All the songs are packed with energy, some with engaging melodic riffs and some with astute melancholy. We really want the listener to think when hearing this record” ~ Guitarist Corinne Ryter

Having existed in several incarnations under various names including Project Penny and Red Fire Dragon over many years it was 2020 before the solidified line up of Michel Egloff-Sieber (Vocals), Remo Lemp (Lead Guitar), Corinne Ryter (Rhythm Guitar), Stefan Bijkerk (Drums) and Sandro Suter (Bass) formed Ophelia’s Eye and unveiled a well received debut EP in “Fight For Us“. Returning with a sophomore effort the band once again take on difficult subjects head on while leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit of Metalcore perfection as the Swiss collective cite As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage and In Flames as influences while leaving behind a big single in “The Demon Behind My Mind“, cut adrift as stand alone.

A modernised take on the iconic Gothenburg sound that inspired the 2003 era of Metalcore is what Ophelia’s Eye brought us with their debut offering and this new affair continues down the same yellow brick road with “My Honor” offering slick Atreyu esq leads over crunchy powerhouse rhythms as Lemp and Ryter drive the band forward with energy and swagger. There is a grit and intensity to the lyrics that is carried into the vocals and resonates with Michel Egloff-Sieber’s gruff tones hiding something raw and emotional underneath them that gives the whole record a weight and gravity, “F*** My Trust” having that darker edge that then runs deeper into the magnum opus that is the title track. Nearly twice as long as all the other cuts here at one proves that the band have what it takes to carry off the longer tunes without losing the listeners attention and with a plethora of guitar nuances it’s one that you’ll want to come back to because you simply can’t take it all in during the first sitting. Always a sucker for a pick slide, “Human Abyss” gets the vote for the stand out performance with an injection of Metalcore ‘n Roll swagger while layered vocals give another dimension before the Groove Metal Lamb Of God inspired pairing of “I’m Explosive” and “Pain And Sorrow” take us in a completely different direction while oddly breaking the continuity of the lyrical narrative. Stacked high with fretboard smoking riffs and accented vocal venom not to mention the dominant display from a powerhouse rhythm section, it’s hard to fault Ophelia’s Eye as “Hopeless World” simply works like a well oiled machine in the best possible way. Expect them to push their boundaries further over the next few records but for now this is the slap in the face you may need to pay attention [8/10]

Track listing