Eightfold Path - Time And Place
4/5

By: Jihad Rabah

Eightfold Path, a hardrock/hardcore band from the Northern California Underground metal scene, features Matt Harvey on vocals, Scott Fitzgerald on bass, Shaun McInnis on guitar, Mike Kilun also on guitar and Andrew Soule on drums. Their latest EP, Time and Place, was released in 2003 independently and was produced by Mike Blanchard and Eightfold Path. The band withholds a lot of hardcore elements but also add in hard rock and lots of melody. The band almost has a split personality, with their hardcore side and their more laid back melodic rock. Matt Harvey delivers both the hardcore scream and the great in tune clean, melodic vocals very well and definitely gives the band their mixed feel. The guitars are loud, distorted and heavy, just the way any hard rock or hardcore fan would want them. They do a great job keeping the rhythm of the music in place and keeps the listener occupied at all times. There wasnt a single point in the album where the album lost my attention or I got bored. The bass is somewhat laid back but is well heard and well played through out the five songs. Andrew Soule's drumming keeps with the generic drumming techniques but he definitely expands on them and begins to show his own method and his own style without compromising the overall sound of the music.

The album starts off very high energy and then slows down with tracks like Corridors and Life In A Flash. The faster, more high energy tracks are In Ink, Compassion is a Fist and Time Heals All Wounds. The musicianship in this band is obviously very strong and all the band members work together to provide you with solid, well written music. The album was mostly recorded at the Expression Center for New Media, which is a great school that has recorded many other bands' music and has kept up their reputation of great recordings for the price that they do charge (which in many cases is free!). Overall, Eightfold Path appeals to both the hardcore and average rock crowd and deliver 100% in both their album and live show. They are on their way to a great future as they are all serious about the band and this always adds to give great amounts of potential.
Album Rating (Out of 5): 4