Listeners familiar with Tony O'Hora's voice on the last two Praying Mantis records (Forever in Time and Nowhere to Hide) might just experience signs of apoplexy upon hearing the first vocal track on this collaboration between O'Hora and guitarist Jamie Kane. "Over the Edge" resonates with a distinctly Judas Priest vibe, circa Rob Halford's screaming era. O'Hora's peformances here — sung either from deep inside his throat or at the top of his falsetto — are a far cry from the crystalline, AOR-friendly voice he uses for Praying Mantis, which are expected to release their next album in 2002.
As for Kane, he plays fast and furious during most of this record, but slows down for ballads like "Never Meant To Make You Cry," which features an acoustic guitar lick that sounds remarkably similar to the intro of Def Leppard's "Bringin' on the Heartbreak." "Remember My Name," O'Hora's contribution to Praying Mantis' stellar Forever in Time album, appears here in slightly altered form and is easily among Eternal Infinity's better tracks — along with "Judgement Day," "Don't Wait Until Tomorrow" and "End of An Era," which (not coincidentally) also sound like Praying Mantis songs. Guest players include Cathedral's Brian Dickson and Ten's Steve McKenna.
Unfortunately, cloudy production brings down the quality a notch or two, as do rather uninspired songs such as "Hurts Like Hell." Eternal Infinity is by no means a must-own record, but it does showcase the range of O'Hora's voice and serves as an excellent example of a singer breaking out of the mold in which he's been cast.
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