EYES sign to Prosthetic Records, announce new album and share lead single

Copenhagen, Denmark hardcore band EYES (feat. members of LLNN) has today announced they’ve signed to Prosthetic Records. Alongside the announcement EYES has revealed they’ll be releasing their third album, SPINNER, via the Los Angeles label on April 25. The band has share the lead single and accompanying music video, Better, with full details below.

Speaking on the album announcement, EYES vocalist Victor Kaas comments:

“SPINNER tells a loose story through the lens of a fictional early 80’s anime episode and introduces a cast of various characters throughout the 10-songs, all based on situations, states of mind and personality traits of myself.

“The album is heavily inspired by manga author Asano Inio and his works Goodnight Punpun and Dead Dead Demon’s De De De Destruction. SPINNER was written as a way to process traumas throughout youth and early adulthood and leave them behind in a world similar to what I used to escape to.”

Of Better, Kaas continues:

“Better is in many ways a statement of intention for the album. It’s short and intense. The song is about wanting to improve as a musician, as a band, as a person. But no matter what your intentions are, there will always be someone who will put you down. Sometimes that person is yourself.”

Following on from their critically acclaimed sophomore album, Congratulations, and a slew of eviscerating live performances, EYES took to the studio to record the ten tracks of SPINNER in Autumn 2024. Featuring members of LLNN, EYES are very much a product of the burgeoning underground scene in their hometown, where they have already established themselves as a force to be reckoned with.

The cast of characters that Victor introduces us to across the course of SPINNER serve as a proxy for unravelling and processing traumas in youth and early adulthood as he scrutinises his past self. The SPINNER universe that EYES have built is a place to escape to, to shake off demons and start anew from a place of acceptance.

Each chapter of the story and each character is brought to life through both the meticulous attention to detail that EYES have applied to their storytelling, and the intensity of its delivery. The dependable Captain – introduced in track three – is a stoic Navy officer who is the very embodiment of responsibility and respectability. As he gets weighed down with the pressure of the duties placed upon him he starts to become fatigued; in this vignette his burden is depicted by an ever-growing backpack that grows larger and larger. The Captain eventually sinks.

Musically, SPINNER came together differently to its predecessors. A much more deliberate approach saw the band uniting to write in the studio with a greater focus on song structure and dynamics. The result is a punchier, groovier version of EYES, with a lesser emphasis on noise rock and as they leaned further towards hardcore and metal. A continually growing trust in each other led to greater creative freedom and a willingness to take risks with musical choices; even when ideas initially seemed too much, too dumb, they saw them through to fruition in service of the bigger picture. This rejuvenating trust combined with the sometimes suffocating surrounds of the warm, cramped, airless studio space, the resulting tracks capture the unhinged attitude of a band that dared to venture down every sonic avenue that felt alluring at the time.

The chaotic nature of the EYES live show is captured on SPINNER, with production duties handled by Jacob Bredahl at The Village and Provo studios in Copenhagen and mastering completed by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. The aggressive cynicism of the band is enhanced by guest vocal appearances by Selma Bahner of Feral Nature and Tower (on The Captain) and Jesse Matthewson of KEN Mode (on Save Face on a Regular Basis).

As EYES approach a new chapter in their own story, they invite you to join them on the SPINNER adventure: embrace the immersive aesthetic as the tale unfolds and the characters come to life before your ears and eyes. SPINNER is an opportunity to explore our own demons, one turbo-charged, gutpunching song at a time.

Spinner tracklist:
1. OP1
2. Better
3. The Captain
4. Deflating Rooms
5. Beelzebub, the Hypocrite
6. Save Face on a Regular Basis
7. Moving Day for the Overton Window
8. Clown
9. Money Mouth
10. Spinner

EYES is:
Victor Kaas – vocals
Rasmus Furbo – guitar
Søren Bomand – guitar/backing vocals
Kenn Bendtsen – bass
Simon Djurhuus – drums