This and
MUTANT are the closest I get to liking Black Metal. I am a big Melodic
Death fan, but I don't care for the rasping/screaming vocals, blast beats,
and riffing style of traditional Black Metal. EPHEL DUATH is certainly
not a traditional Black Metal band, but they definitely often utilize rasping/screaming
vocals and blast beats. What sets bands like MUTANT (side project
for THEORY IN PRACTICE members in case you did not know) and EPHEL DUATH
apart from the pack is their level of musical complexity. EPHEL DUATH's
multi-layered sound makes me as happy as I imagine EMPEROR does to all
of their rabid fans. (I am not an EMPEROR fan myself.) EPHEL
DUATH's constantly changing riffing remains primarily in the Black Metal
camp, but it is more complex than anything you have heard from any bands
in the subgenre except perhaps for MUTANT.
Keyboards are normally
used in Black Metal to convince the listener that the corpsepainted band
members are the highest among Satan's evil minions by sounding as spooky
(and cheesy) as possible. Not so with EPHEL DUATH. The keys
on Phormula add another interesting level of intricacy that
is integral to my enjoyment of this disc. Although the keyboard playing
does create a certain atmosphere, it adds much more than that, and it is
very rarely cheesy or overdone.
One potential drawback
for some listeners is the use of a drum machine on Phormula.
I don't mind the use of such machines considering several bands I like
very much (NECROPHAGIST, SCHOLOMANCE, and SYMBYOSIS) tend to utilize them
quite well. The drum programming on Phormula obviously
does not sound "natural", but then neither does all of the triggered jackhammer
double bass I hear on the hundreds of mediocre Death Metal discs that exist.
If you cannot get past programmed drums, you will be missing out on some
great CDs. Enough said.
I don't feel the
need to describe specific songs because all of them are of similarly good
quality, and I am often at a loss to describe, in detail, progressive releases
such as Phormula. I think blow by blow descriptions
of songs are unnecessary unless the mood really strikes me. The bottom
line is this - if you like Progressive Black or Death Metal such as SCHOLOMANCE,
SYMBYOSIS, or NINTH LEVEL, you need to listen to EPHEL DUATH. Hell,
EMPEROR fans will probably like the band as well. Check this Italian
two man band out at their home page
and mp3 site.
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EPHEL DUATH
