Destiny's End

James Rivera, vocalist extraordinaire of the legendary Helstar, here joins 3/5 of the defunct New Eden to form what Rivera describes as the return to the heyday of metal. On this point, I can agree, as this album just reeks of the 80's from it's Maideny riffs to the D + D cover art. Metal Blade is attempting a coup here what with all the speed metal releases coming out of there lately, and with Destiny's End they might be on the right track. Musicianship is downright excellent, with those trademark Rivera vocals just commandeering this into oblivion. One thing I have noticed, on all these releases and the Dwell Iron Maiden Tribute is the constant use of double bass. Not sure if I agree with it, but it does seem to fit here, giving the album a pretty constant pace, but also adds to the "cons" list, as songs start to bleed together for me during the middle tracks. Some nice bass guitar work catches my ear, impressive since there didn't appear to be much room around the riffage. As good as your going to hear in this day and age, Breathe Deep the Dark may be a metal calling card for the 21st century.
7 out of 10