Any hope Blindfolded and Led to the Woods are doing so for a romantic picnic quickly evaporated upon hitting play. This New Zealand tech death band keep their music dizzying, disorienting and ultimately, violent. “The White of the Eyes” is over before it began, only making it more of a mindfuck.
The song follows “Atop the Winds of a Magpie,” which features Nile’s Karl Sanders. That kind of co-sign might be exactly what the band needs to reach the heights they deserve. Though this single lacks its predecessor’s atmospherics, the vibe fits and will likely continue on the overall Nightmare Withdrawals album. Imagine a band that grew up on the grindier side of deathcore à la the Red Chord discovered Gorguts.
If you’re going through Nightmare Withdrawals, this should implant some directly into your subconscious. Bassist Nick Smith explains the lyrical confusionspiration.
“On the surface ‘The White of the Eyes’ is a tribute to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. It became apparent writing the rest of the album that there were a lot of themes exploring dreams and the concept of time. At the time I was heavily engrossed in the latest season of Twin Peaks and couldn’t help but notice a lot of similarity to the themes presented by Lynch. It was one of the songs that came together relatively quickly and was the first song we finished in the studio.”
Pre-order Nightmare Withdrawals physically or digitally. It’s out March 26.
