The musicians in Eye Empire have been perfecting their individual talents for some time before uniting. B.C. Kochmit certainly has mastered his guitar’s studio sound — and with the combination of bassist Corey Lowery’s extra credit knob-twiddling, the production quality on the album Moment of Impact excels. A perfect example of this is the 5-star “I Pray.” I’m sure audiophiles everywhere will agree, the guitar riffage is real fun to listen to on 11. Then there’s the pounding bass rhythm in “Ignite (Moment of Impact),” it’s almost transcendent in the mix. There are songs that make you hair stand on end. “Ignite” makes your pulse miss a beat or two. Plenty of songs (and their nuances) on Moment of Impact are worthy of attention. Only a few seem overdone, too slick for their own good, and a little light in feel, like “More Than Fate” and “Angels & Demons.” Not that these songs are horrible, they are just songs to be skipped over for something superior.

Donald Carpenter’s voice is outstanding throughout — a bit of old school hard rock instinct with ‘nu’ school design. He’s got “it” for sure and is a pleasure to listen to even in the most mediocre composition. Hints of Chris Cornell, Dio throw in for good measure, and, dare I say, Chester Bennington. But ultimately he has his own distinct voice and a promising future fronting this band.

Clearly Eye Empire are influenced by bands of the ’90s, and if they existed in the ’90s they would certainly be successful by now. But Eye Empire have their own destiny in 2011 and beyond, and it’s clearly a positive one.

Available on Bad Puppy Records