Eternal Vision’s Earth Bone EP has been reissued in digital format–with bonus track “Racing Towards the Funeral”–and is now available in the iTunes store, and at CD Baby! You can order and download the songs right here on the website on Joe’s band page (order fulfilled by CD Baby), or search for Eternal Vision in the iTunes store.
This critically-acclaimed EP from NYC hard rockers Eternal Vision was originally released in 1992. The first two tracks, “Enter the Morning” and “Water and Strange Mist,” bear distinct prog-rock hallmarks carried over from the band’s first release, The Obsidian Butterfly. Bassist Frank LaPlaca and drummer Joe Bergamini lock together on orchestrated fills that bear a close resemblance to Rush. “Flowers and Purple Thorns” is a psychedelic rock ballad in style of Pink Floyd, the perfect vehicle for singer/lyricist Jim Spinella’s visions. The last 2 tracks from the original EP, “Earth Bone” and “Mother’s Diver,” were the two newest songs at the time of this release (the first three being written right before original drummer William Struz left the band). These new tracks added a much heavier element to the band’s sound, incorporating the stylings of bands such as Pantera and Rage Against the Machine, which began especially to influence guitarist Patrick Bitbol at this time. At the same time, elements of funk and fusion also began to creep into the band’s sound, and these elements would crystallize further on EV’s next and last release, Last Century Shock, an album recorded live at the legendary club CBGB in New York City. Bitbol’s unique guitar sound, reminiscent in some ways of Ty Tabor of King’s X, ties the band’s style together on all these recordings.
A fixture on the rock/metal scene in the early 1990s, Eternal Vision was a headline act at venues such as CBGB, Danceteria, and Limelight, and disbanded while still a very popular act on that scene. The highlight of their live show, to many fans, was the 10+-minute epic “Racing Towards the Funeral,” a prog-inspired metal tune with emotionally wrenching lyrics and performance by Spinella. For the first time, fans can hear a studio version of the song which was recorded by Planet Dread drummer Dan Ianuzzeli at this studio just before EV permanently broke up. Other songs from these sessions also survive, but “Funeral” is complete, and bears the power of the live version that mezmerized fans in the NYC clubs back in the day.
This recording features Patrick Bitbol on guitar, Frank LaPlaca on bass, Jim Spinella on vocals, and Joe Bergamini on drums. All the members are still active. You can hear LaPlaca and Bergamini together in the band 4Front (also available on CD Baby), Spinella and LaPlaca continue to play together in The Buddha Brains, while Patrick Bitbol works with his own band, Ghost and the Big Sky.
Also available is Eternal Vision’s Last Century Shock album, with the 2 cuts from the Addicted to Confusion 2-song single added as a bonus.