Ephel Duath reviews

[Lee_B]

From "Lords Of Metal"

Eigenlijk is er maar 1 teleurstelling toen ik dit schijfje opzette: het is een heruitgave! Een kleine anderhalf jaar geleden verscheen via Code666 hun debuutalbum 'Phormula' en dat vond ik een van de prettigste verrassingen van dat jaar. Maniakale, door industrial beïnvloede epische, high-tech black metal, ergens tussen Emperor, The Kovenant en Diabolos Rising in, maar toch ook weer niet. Dus toen er bij mij op de deurmat hun eerste release via Earache plofte wist ik niet hoe snel ik het schijfje in de CD-speler moest proppen. Maar na de eerste tonen was het een hartgrondig 'Verdomme, dit ken ik al!!!' En toen zag ik pas de titel van de schijf 'Rephormula'. Aha, lekker is dat: het spul een beetje herkauwen. Okay: het beessie heeft wel nieuw artwork en is schijnbaar ook opnieuw gemastered. Nou ja, Earache zal ongetwijfeld een betere distributie hebben dan het kleine Code666, dus ze doen maar. Het is Ephel Duath gegund, want wat betreft de muziek: sla er het archief maar op na, want ik sta nog steeds volmondig achter de wijze ik hen toentertijd zat op te hemelen (of: neer te hellen). En toch is deze release ook interessant voor mensen die 'Phormula' al hebben. Want hun 3-track demo 'Opera' (andere nummers dan 'Phormula') is er als bonus erbij gedaan, hoewel deze - als we de verhalen mogen geloven - d.m.v. meer dan 20,000 downloads van hun site waarschijnlijk al bij meer mensen bekend is dan hun debuutalbum zelf. Welnu, die demotracks waren bij mij nog niet bekend en ik snap nu volkomen waarom jan en alleman hun CD-Rommetjes vol heeft laten branden: wat een triootje fantastische tracks! Om tenslotte het schijfje helemaal vol te zetten, heeft Earache er ook nog eens 2 remixen op gekwakt door ene Paso en Homo Homini Loops (wie zegt U?). Maar als je gewoon track 9 en 10 er tussenuit programmeert heb je daar in ieder geval geen last van. The Emperor is dead, long live Ephel Duath!

90/100

 

[Lee_B]

From "Calamity Project"

having never heard of this band before receiving the promo for this cd, i was curious as to what the may sound like. the blurb sheet earache sent me said it was black metal. not being a very big fan of black metal, i figured it wouldn't be that good. i was wrong.

in some aspects, this is your standard black metal. has those synths, and those guitar leads and whatnot, but it's got a death metal feel to it as well. i love the drums, and the raspy shrieks. the synths…i'm not a very huge fan of, but for synth sounds, they are good.

ephel duath is the kind of band that aims to bring an aural decimation of sorts, and they do not fail. this album will not disappoint those looking for a black metal record that rips. it's like a symphonic sledge hammer beating you in the head until your brains ooze out of your lifeless head.

in conclusion, if you're looking for a good black metal record, this won't fail to impress you.

 

[Lee_B]

From "Deadnoise"

This is quite interesting. I am liking this twist of Black Metal that has been surfacing lately, and Ephel Duath seem to be the latest sensation in doing so. This is like a cross between Limbonic Art and Dodheimsgard "666 International". Very nice atmosphere, odd feel, and still very chaotic; a perfect equation. I understand that the bulk of the songs on this release are from the CD "Phormula" which came out, take a guess when...yes, right before this one! And with this being my introduction to Ephel Duath, seemingly I do not care, and I can say immediately say that they're one of my favorite new bands that I have heard lately. The music is very involved, even in the technical aspect of Black Metal. This is something that you think would be released on Moonfog, but Earache got ahold of this one, and rightfully so. Seeing as how this is a "re-release" of some past material, I cannot wait to hear the future Ephel Duath efforts.

 

[Lee_B]

From "Vicentius"

Ephel Duath släppte under 2000 sin debut på italenska etiketten Code666 med titeln Phormula, sedan så fick Earache för sej att de ville släppa plattan över hela världen och kom överens med italienarna med en deal. Den dealen slutade i ett nyutgiv att bandets debutplatta. För att öka köplusten för oss så inkluderas två remixar samt bandets första demo vid namn som kort o gott kallades "Opera".

Bandet lirar en ganska snabb och aggresiv och extremt högteknologisk black metal, skivbolaget vill kalla det datorålderns black metal, och det är faktiskt ovanligt klokt för att komma från ett sådant håll.
Oftast går det hela på högvarv där bandet manglar på för fullt (antagligen med hjälp av en trumm maskin), till detta använder man synthen väldigt flitigt samt att det frenetiska riffandendet fulländar det hela.
De vokala bitarna har de valt att inte enbart satsa på att growla trots att det givetvis är det vanligast förekommande, ofta så tycker jag att det kan låta helt kasst när man gör på detta vis (Vortex i Dimmu Borgir är mästare på detta.), men i och med att bandets vokalist har en mycket bra ren röst så låter det faktiskt riktigt bra när de väljer att använda sej utav detta.

De två extra remixarna som följer med kan sammafattas med ett enda ord. Dynga! Vad du än gör lyssna inte på dessa låtar om du är vid ditt fulla sinne!
Demotapen Opera som avslutar det hela med tre spår skiljer sej de lite granna de med, inledande "Opera I" låter lite mera episk än högteknoligisk som hela första delen speglade, men det är fortförande samma übersnabba blackmetal i annars som Ephel Duath har på de andra spåren.

Rephormula som helhet är en lite progresiv, väldigt elektronisk och extremt snabb blackmetal, bortser man från de totalvidriga remixarna så är detta stundtals rätt skönt att lyssna på. Bandet skiljer sej en hel del från mängderna av blackmetal band vilket är både på gott och ont, alltid intressant att höra något nytt, men det är inte alltid nytt är det som är bäst.

6/10

 

[Lee_B]

From "dieunterwelt"

Na da haben Ephel Duath aus Italien aber ein Werk der besonderen Art gefertigt. Schon sofort beim Intro bekommt man demonstrativ mitgeteilt in welche Richtung das Album gehen wird. Und zwar in eine komplexe und sehr maschinelle respektive elektronische Richtung. Viele verschiedene Elemte wurden auf diesem Opus kombiniert und vereint. Gesangstechnisch wie auch instrumental. Da kann man hymnische und klare Hintergrundgesänge vernehmen, wie etwa bei Greynesses grow already old und auch klassische Klaviereinsprängsel. Wobei aber das Gesamtpaket stets ein komplexes Gebilde bleibt für das man sich beim Hören sehr viel Zeit nehmen sollte.
Die Stücke sind alle sehr ineinander mit verschiedenen Stilelementen verwoben und erfordern dadurch ein konzentriertes Hören, damit sich die Musik erst richtig entfalten kann, und man sie auch dann erst richtig erschließen kann. So etwas birgt bei einer Band immer gewisse Risiken in sich, da man als Hörer oft nicht die nötige Zeit, Lust oder einfach die Nerven dazu hat, sich ein (neues) Album so intensiv zu Gemüte zu führen.
Zu leicht kann eine Band dadurch ins unwürdige Abseits driften.
Wie erwähnt, kommen die Lieder sehr maschinell rüber, was die unglaublich vielschichtigen Klänge der Gitarren, des Schlagzeugs und verschiedene andere Instrumente die eingespielt werden, bewirken. Zugleich wirken die Lieder sogar okkult wie es bei den Landsmännern von Opera IX der Fall ist, was hierbei aber auf den Gesang zurückzuführen ist, der zum Teil sehr an die Gesänge der Frontfrau von Opera IX erinnert.
Was ich als schade empfinde, sind die Drums, die zum Teil sehr stark auf einen Drumcomputer schließen lassen, und die meiste Zeit einfach zu flach rüberkommen.
Insgesamt stellt Rephormula ein interessantes Album dar, mit dem sich lange beschäftigen kann und auch immer wieder etwas neues entdeckt. Doch sollte man komplexe Musik mögen die sich nicht auf eine Richtung versteift, sondern progressiv verschiedene Stile aufzeigt.

 

[Mike: Deadtide]

From Deadtide.com

Ephel Duath is one of the most promising black metal bands I've heard in a long time, but you wouldn't necessarily know it from a listen to RePhormula, Earache's repackaging of their debut CD, Phormula, which includes a re-mastered Phormula in its entirety, two remixes and three tracks from their incredible Opera demo.

Ephel Duath play an exotic, chaotic, melodic and just plain psychotic blend of black metal mind-fuckery driven by sinewy guitars coiled about drum machines and synth and pierced by shrieks, screams and chants. It's impressive simply because they manage to compose a whole out of such disparate parts, but it's amazing because it all somehow works, creating a symphonic outpouring of emotion quite unique from anythin I've ever heard. Ephel Duath are working on the lunatic fringe of black metal and threaten to take it places it's never and probably doesn't even want to go.

The tracks included from their first demo, Opera, are actually some of the best tracks on the disc, as they have a near-perfect mix of guitar and synth, chaos and melody, abstraction and completion. Both Opera and Adulta Hieme are modern classics, and if Ephel Duath receive the recognition they deserve, these two songs will go down as their first masterpieces.

The meat of the CD of course, is a complete and remastered edition of Ephel Duath's out-of-print debut, Phormula. With Phormula, their mix became more synth-skewed, and for the most part it works as a logical progression from the sonic balance of the Opera demos. There are more melodic vocals, slightly less-abrasive compositional elements, and the symphonic aspect is jacked through the roof, but there's also a disturbing presence of techno beats and lame electronica bits. Fortunately, those moments are rare and the majority of the material is a stellar extension of the sound they forged on Opera.

The remaining two tracks are remixes of songs that weren't on either Opera or Phormula, and, to be honest, they suck. Pure techno-synth drivel, electonica masturbation that bogs down the CD and tarnishes the amazing repertoire Ephel Duath had previously constructed. If this is the direction they're headed, I will not be looking forward to their next disc.

Ultimately, this is a stellar disc because of the Opera and Phormula tracks, but the newest material on the disc raises serious questions about the future output of this previously godlike entity. Obtain this disc at any cost, but be cautious on the next one.

 

[Russell]

All of this was just Lee's cunning plan to increase his post count, I'm sure of it

 

[Lee_B]

From Aural Decimation - I think he secretly likes it

************************************
What the fuck is going on here? Brutal for 20 seconds, friuty for 20 seconds, brutal, fruity. This is like a supremely horrible, focusless carnival. There's a bunch of good ideas in each song, and some of the heavy parts are quite good, but they only last five to ten seconds before drenching in homo. the gayety of fruit baskets, the horrific
arrangements and pointless insertion of faggoty interludes is killing this for me. What's with the gay black metal flutes and pan? Harpsichords? Screw female vocals.

Techno and fruit. The gayest raver or the fattest goth would not be willing to dance to this sausage fest that is, and I quote, 'greynesses grow already old'. I can't find any of my graynesses, but I'm sure they're already growing fruit. I'll keep looking. There is just no rhyme or reason in these arrangements. Stacks upon stacks of loose ends and ideas gone bad thrown in a bucket of gay and soaked for 50 minutes, then spread upon cupcakes of faggotry. Don't they realize that cupcakes with too much frosting stick together?

I just can't take this. If you are into bands that like to try and fit every genre into each song broken into ten and twenty second segments, and gay them together with flutes, female operetics, techno drum beats and fisticuffs into eight minute homopuses, then you just may win pole position for the anal cupcaking with this disc. I'll be running the other way as fast as possible, backwards.


Standout Tracks: ---
Rating: 0/10
-poopmouth

 

[Lee_B]

From Hammerhead Zine

************************************************Here comes some Italian extreme music that will throw you to the floor. Get ready for a bombast of twisted black metal and speed combined with keys and some serious orchestration. If you though Cradle Of Filth were serious, then you may want to check this inspired sickness. They blast right in with what seems to be drum machines and programming. This goes into a avant-garde realm of its own for sure. If you are ready for virtuoso extreme metal then strap yourself in. "The Embossed" kicks this assault into your face and you don't know whether to run or listen closer. That is what they make you do. Listen closer. How are they getting all those notes in there changing tempos on a dime and all? This is evident on the horror like second track. The beats per minute are sick as hell. Other instances I though of Godflesh a lot when hearing this. Still no blower bass. "The Flickering Warmth" starts sweet and then grows into a beheading thrasher. "Phormula" has those techno sounds that I've come to know and the guitars surely slice here. The technology makes this sound so awkward. Those Balsagoth fans should check in here. You also get two hard hitting, more industrial blackness remixes and three demo tracks. So get ready to be slapped around in plenty of ways.

 

[Jo]

http://home.iprimus.com.au/faymax/cdreviews29.html#10

Rephormula received a KKKK review in the October issue of Kerrang in Australia.

 

[Emi]

cool! we're working on a KKKKK with the next album...