EYE AM Feat. TYPE O NEGATIVE And CROWBAR Members: Second Single ‘Cryptomnesia’ Out Now

EYE AM, the new band featuring former TYPE O NEGATIVE members Kenny Hickey (guitar/vocals) and Johnny Kelly (drums),along with Kirk Windstein (guitar, vocals; CROWBAR, DOWN, KINGDOM OF SORROW) and Todd Strange (CROWBAR, DOWN),has released its second single, “Cryptomnesia”, via Corpse Paint Records. The song’s accompanying music video was shot and directed by Mike Holderbeast at OCD Recording And Production.

With a soft, acoustic intro jolting into heavy-hitting guitar riffs and face-melting vocals, “Cryptomnesia” feels like a total slap in the face in the best possible way. The song centers around the mantra “And into your arms, I commend my life. And after your death, I take back what’s mine.”

Strange said about the track: “I think we’re finding our sound as we go. And this is sounding more like EYE AM.”

Added Kelly: “The creative part is the fun part, that’s been the fun part. It’s become the song, to me, that identifies EYE AM. We’re still finding ourselves, and it seems like this is where we are meant to be.”

Windstein said: “I really think ‘Cryptomnesia’ is a perfect example of a new band finding its own style and sound. I love [EYE AM‘s debut single] ‘Dreams Always Die With The Sun’, but we had a lot more time putting together ‘Cryptomnesia’, and the end result is awesome!!! The song is very hypnotic to me. I never get tired of hearing it, and that’s a great thing.”

Hickey said: “I feel that ‘Cryptomnesia’ is ambitious and really widens the pallet for EYE AM moving forward. It wasn’t designed with that in mind; it just sort of grew from a central riff like any other song, but then just spread outward, eventually incorporating acoustic guitars, multiple lead guitar breaks and key changes. I think it came out quite powerful and we’re really proud of it. Now we seem to have set a pretty high standard for ourselves and I feel like we’re going to have to not just maintain it but keep pushing the envelope to see where it leads us. Discovering new sounds and taking risks go hand in hand. Sometimes it works and sometimes it hits the wall but it’s always more interesting than taking the obvious route.”

He added: “I don’t want our music to be one-dimensional. I don’t want it to be just dark and doomy or always heavy. I want it to be both light and dark and dynamic and I think ‘Cryptomnesia’ really captures all of that. I really love the way it moves freely between opposing movements of heavy guitars and sudden melodic key changes and even acoustic segments. It’s a moody song and it goes a lot of places in the five minutes or so it takes to play out. It feels more like a trip than a song to me. I don’t get tired of listening to it.”

EYE AM‘s debut single, “Dreams Always Die With The Sun”, was released in June via Corpse Paint Records. A music video for the track was filmed by Holderbeast at Joy Theater in New Orleans, Louisiana and can be seen below.

“Dreams Always Die With The Sun” was written by Hickey and Windstein and was recorded in February by bassist Roger Lima of LESS THAN JAKE at his studio called The Moathouse in Gainesville, Florida. The track was mixed and mastered by Jay Ruston.

Speaking to Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio station, Kelly stated about how EYE AM came together: “That was started with Andrew Spaulding. I met him; he was a merchandiser for DANZIG. And then TYPE O went on tour after that. We brought him out and he worked with TYPE O up until Peter [Steele, TYPE O NEGATIVE frontman] passed away. And we all remained good friends and stuff. And he started an indie label; he started a small little label. And he suggested putting me and Kenny together with Kirk Windstein and Todd Strange from CROWBAR. We’ve all been friends — I’ve known Kirk and Todd for, like, 30 years at this point. So we’ve always been friends and we’ve always crossed paths and hung out and this and that but never really had the opportunity to get in a room and play together. And Drew had it worked out. We all met in Florida. We got into a room, came up with that song, recorded it the next day, and that was it; it was done.'”

According to Kelly, “Dreams Always Die With The Sun” was written and recorded in less than a day. “Drew literally picked me up from the airport and drove me to rehearsal,” he said. “And the guys were in the room. And I just put my suitcase over to the side, set up the kit and we started working on the song. And then the next morning we went to the recording studio, tracked all the drums. And then I was on a plane. I don’t know where I was going after that, but I had to leave right after we were done tracking; I think my flight was at six in the morning the next morning. So I was there just literally for a few hours.”

Regarding how “Dreams Always Die With The Sun” turned out, Johnny said: “It’s a cool song. I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I guess the best way to compare it — on a different scale, of course — would be like Scott Weiland and VELVET REVOLVER [got together]. You take these people from these bands and you put ’em together and you have a certain expectation of it. Then you’re not sure if it’s gonna meet it, if it’s exceeding it or if it falls way below. But I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was and how much fun it was to work with everybody.”

In addition to their work with TYPE O NEGATIVE, Hickey and Kelly had previously collaborated in a band called SEVENTH VOID, which released one full-length album, “Heaven Is Gone”, in 2009, and SILVERTOMB, which issued “Edge Of Existence” in 2019.

In a 2018 interview with Rock And Roll Fables, Hickey stated about his chemistry with Kelly: “I’ve been working with Johnny long before TYPE O. I met Johnny probably in 1986. TYPE O formed in 1989, so we were already in a thrash band together. Basically, we grew up and learned everything the wrong way together and had to work it out over the course of the years. [Laughs] For me, it’s completely natural with him. We got better at it. Dude, you do something for 35 years, I hope you’re getting better at it.”

Original CROWBAR bassist Strange returned to the band in 2016 for the touring cycle in support of the band’s “The Serpent Only Lies” album.

Strange, who originally left CROWBAR back in 1999, stuck around for two years before departing once again to focus on his family life.

CROWBAR frontman Windstein, who also plays in the New Orleans supergroup DOWN, released two albums with HATEBREED‘s Jamey Jasta under the KINGDOM OF SORROW banner. Kirk‘s debut solo album, “Dream In Motion”, arrived in 2020.

Photo credit: Charles Dye Photography (courtesy of Raquel Figlo Public Relations)