Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Haven't Heard This Yet: Next to Eternity - Phoenix Rising (Track Review) Released: 12/13/24

 

Next to Eternity arrives with all the fire they can muster on Phoenix Rising, a hard rock/metal anthem that wears its themes proudly on its sleeve. From the very first lines: "I've become one with the beast inside / The prophecy foretold this, my burning fire," the band establishes a tone that is unapologetically bold, mythological, and ferociously self-assured. This is a track about liberation in its rawest form: shedding the weight of others' control, reclaiming personal power, and emerging from the flames of adversity as something altogether unstoppable. It's a familiar archetype within the genre, but Next to Eternity commits to it with enough conviction and energy to make it feel like their own.

The chorus is undeniably the track's greatest weapon. The repeated hammering of "burn, burn, burn" functions simultaneously as a melodic hook, a battle cry, and something close to a spiritual mantra. There is a primal, almost ritualistic satisfaction to its bluntness; it doesn't reach for complexity, and that restraint is actually one of the smarter decisions on the record. In a genre littered with overwrought choruses trying to do too much at once, this one plants its flag and refuses to move. By the third time it hits, you'll find yourself mouthing along without quite realizing it, which is exactly what a great single is supposed to do.

Lyrically, Phoenix Rising leans deeply into the mythology of the lone underdog standing against a hostile world. The imagery of chains, ash, fire, and broken paths is painted with broad, confident strokes. Lines like "No longer shackled by the cowards / I have set myself free" and "It's me against the world, I like it that way" tap into something universally relatable that hunger to prove yourself to everyone who ever doubted you. The song doesn't try to be subtle about it, and rightly so. Subtlety would undercut the visceral emotional release the track is clearly going for. The bridge offers a genuinely compelling shift in tone. The layered vocal delivery on "I break my chains so that I may run free / The only hindrance I bare is what's behind me" introduces a moment of quiet reckoning amidst all the fury. It briefly acknowledges that the real battle isn't just with the outside world, it's with the past itself. It's a small but meaningful touch that prevents the song from feeling entirely one-dimensional, hinting at a band capable of more emotional depth than the surface-level aggression might initially suggest.

Where the track has room to grow is in its lyrical variation. The core imagery of chains, fire, ash, and wrath is powerful, but it does circle back on itself several times throughout the runtime. A few more unexpected turns of phrase or a second gear shift could push a song this energetic from solid-anthem territory into something truly memorable. Similarly, a touch more dynamic contrast in the arrangement, perhaps a quieter passage before the final chorus erupts, could amplify the cathartic impact of the big moments considerably. That said, these are the growing pains of a band still carving out their identity, and there is plenty here to be excited about. 

Phoenix Rising is exactly the kind of single that announces a band's arrival with intention. It is unapologetic, propulsive, and packed with the kind of raw energy that reminds you why heavy music exists in the first place to give voice to the feelings that are too big and too burning to be expressed any other way. Next to Eternity may still be finding their footing, but on this evidence, they are already playing with real fire.

I descended into the inferno so you didn't have to. Here is Phoenix Rising: 

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