EPHEL DUATH - The Painter's Palette
1. The Passage (pearl gray)
2. The Unpoetic Circle (bottle green)
3. Labyrinthine (crimson)
4. Praha (ancient gold)
5. The Picture (bordeaux)
6. Ruins (deep blue and violet)
7. Ironical Communion (amber)
8. My Glassy Shelter (dirty white)
9. The Other's Touch (amaranth)
Label: Elitist Records
Release date: 2003
Artist site: http://www.ephelduath.net/
GRADE:
8/10
Taking all of this in is proving to be quite a task. Leaps and bounds beyond what they did with their last effort, Rephormula, EPHEL DUATH are on their way to becoming a standout name in the "avantgarde" metal world with The Painter's Palette. This band sounds like a brand new beast, combining jazz fusion, hardcore, prog and who knows what else. It's like SOLEFALD and CANDIRIA fucked each other and then threw John Zorn and Coltrane into the orgy. Of course, no description will aptly portray what the listener will be getting with this one. 5 weeks later, I'm still trying to figure it out. I can tell you one thing, it's good, very good. Opening track "The Passage (pearl gray)" flows effortlessly yet chaotic, and no matter how I try to describe it, I still won't be able to get the full picture across. The vocals are like Mike Patton meets Mikael Akereldt meets CANDIRIA meets, etc, etc, on and on... I think you get the idea. This is definitely for those bored with everything in their collection, very unique and genuinely original.
"Labyrinthine (crimson)" has an OPETH meets TODAY IS THE DAY thing going on at times. Throw in some funk over those solos and talk about a mindfuck! The lounge sax jazz of "Praha (ancient gold)" is superb, the guitar noodling in the background very tasty and the percussion tighter than a nun's panties on a Sunday afternoon. To the untrained ear, a large portion of this material will probably go over the heads of your average music listener. Yet, even as a music enthusiast delving into the entire scope of this release, I often find myself listening to the CD as a whole and less for "songs." There is just so much going on!
I had written EPHEL DUATH off after hearing Rephormula and had absolutely zero expectations for this when I received it. I am now happy to stick my foot in my mouth as they are surely in a class of their own. Quite possibly a contender for Top 10 of 2003.
PJ
1. The Passage (pearl gray)
2. The Unpoetic Circle (bottle green)
3. Labyrinthine (crimson)
4. Praha (ancient gold)
5. The Picture (bordeaux)
6. Ruins (deep blue and violet)
7. Ironical Communion (amber)
8. My Glassy Shelter (dirty white)
9. The Other's Touch (amaranth)
Label: Elitist Records
Release date: 2003
Artist site: http://www.ephelduath.net/
GRADE:
8/10
Taking all of this in is proving to be quite a task. Leaps and bounds beyond what they did with their last effort, Rephormula, EPHEL DUATH are on their way to becoming a standout name in the "avantgarde" metal world with The Painter's Palette. This band sounds like a brand new beast, combining jazz fusion, hardcore, prog and who knows what else. It's like SOLEFALD and CANDIRIA fucked each other and then threw John Zorn and Coltrane into the orgy. Of course, no description will aptly portray what the listener will be getting with this one. 5 weeks later, I'm still trying to figure it out. I can tell you one thing, it's good, very good. Opening track "The Passage (pearl gray)" flows effortlessly yet chaotic, and no matter how I try to describe it, I still won't be able to get the full picture across. The vocals are like Mike Patton meets Mikael Akereldt meets CANDIRIA meets, etc, etc, on and on... I think you get the idea. This is definitely for those bored with everything in their collection, very unique and genuinely original.
"Labyrinthine (crimson)" has an OPETH meets TODAY IS THE DAY thing going on at times. Throw in some funk over those solos and talk about a mindfuck! The lounge sax jazz of "Praha (ancient gold)" is superb, the guitar noodling in the background very tasty and the percussion tighter than a nun's panties on a Sunday afternoon. To the untrained ear, a large portion of this material will probably go over the heads of your average music listener. Yet, even as a music enthusiast delving into the entire scope of this release, I often find myself listening to the CD as a whole and less for "songs." There is just so much going on!
I had written EPHEL DUATH off after hearing Rephormula and had absolutely zero expectations for this when I received it. I am now happy to stick my foot in my mouth as they are surely in a class of their own. Quite possibly a contender for Top 10 of 2003.
PJ
