#4 - Eye of the Enemy - The Shift
This really has been an exceptional year for music. In a rare twist, the majority of the albums that accompany the songs on the countdown have also been outstanding. With the only exception being the Cut Copy album, almost all of the discs (minus the just released Walk the Moon) had multiple songs rocketing through my MP3 player. Intriguingly, that trend comes to a grinding halt at #4. It's not to say that Eye of the Enemy's disc "The Vengeance Paradox" is bad, but when you say "Melodic Death Metal", you kind of get the picture on what the majority of bands who play that style sound like. In fact, this band actually bears a striking resemblance in musical style to the now defunct This Ending with their album "Dead Harvest", which landed the #7 song in our inaugural countdown, "Machinery". But the Australian quartet did bang out a major hit in our #4 song, "The Shift".
I don't suppose it's hard to tell why this song is ranked so high. 2013's #2 song was a progressive track from the band Aeon Zen called "Warning", which features the greatest 2:43 intro that I have ever heard. Well, "The Shift" starts off with a soft acoustic guitar, which is joined by a second and the play off of each other until the 1 minute mark, when the amps are plugged in and the cymbals crash. The opening plugged riff on this song was easily my favorite riff of the year. But by comparison to "Warning", the actual song content on "The Shift" is far superior. The bass thunders, the guitars soar and the drums pummel through six minutes and ten seconds of power. Sadly, there is no video as the band is actually a very small act who have just barely pushed their way off the Australian continent. The lyrics seem to suggest a troubled father (perhaps a soldier) guiding his son through life. Even if you don't listen to the words, this song is a melodic killer and well worth it's spot in the top 5.
Title: The Shift
Artist: Eye of the Enemy
Album: The Vengeance Paradox
Previous #4s
2013: New Politics - a) Harlem; b) Goodbye Copenhagen
2012: Garbage - Beloved Freak
2011: Matt Nathanson - Kiss Quick
2010: The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio
2009: Alice in Chains - Check My Brain
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