Ephel Duath
I’m happy I took the time to listen to more than one album from Ephel Duath, because the difference between the first and last album is pretty substantial. Without a doubt the weirdest band profiled so far on here, Ephel Duath consists of Davide Tiso and a rapidly changing lineup of other musicians that apparently keep quitting, according to an interview I read from Lambgoat from 2009.
The first album, Phormula, seems to be considered Progressive Post-Black metal. An aside, if anyone wants to leave an informative comment describing what this post-rock and post-black metal and post-everything is all about, that would be appreciated. I’m sure I could do a google search, but I hadn’t heard that term until starting this project. So far I’ve been just quietly agreeing when someone classifies something as post-whatever. So it’s.. after.. black metal? Showing my ignorance here, for sure.
Phormula is pretty cool, it’s got a bunch of weird time signatures, which I’ve always been a fan of. Also a lot of melodic elements, which is cool in small doses. As I’ve mentioned a few times, blues influence works better for me than a classical influence, but I can appreciate both. The vocals are pretty standard black metal vocals, nothing special about them to me. The stand out song for me on that album is Pursuing the Instinct. It has a few really neat riffs and catchy melodies in it that are going to be stuck in my head for a long time. The whole album has super fast keyboards scattered throughout. I’m slowly finding a way to accept keyboards as something that belongs in metal, the more I listen to new stuff.
The songwriting seems to be really complex than a lot of stuff I regularly listen to. Usually I can pick out everything that’s going on pretty easily, but with Phormula I was kind of scrambling to keep up with how busy it was while I listened. I don’t know if thats particularly a good thing for me, but it’s a style of music so like everything else it’s really up to preference. It definitely demands your full attention. Maybe the reason I love stoner rock/metal so much is because my brain works slower than average. ;P
While Phormula is something I would keep on my iPod, his latest, Through my Dog’s Eyes, a concept album about being a dog, I guess, isn’t. This album is described as Avant-Garde Jazz Metal. I didn’t know that was a thing. Although I appreciate the work that went into making it and the bravery of having a concept album like this, this one wasn’t for me. The lyrics are pretty ridiculous, which I guess is to be expected following the thought pattern of a dog. As for the music itself, there are some nice instrumentals throughout that are worth listening to, and still has the weird time signatures from the first album, but the lyrics and vocals really wreck this one for me. It is a concept album though, so maybe their next release will be something I can enjoy more.
Ultimately this band seems pretty interesting and unique to me. I admire a band that isn’t afraid to keep experimenting and changing what they do. If you haven’t heard them yet, I’d check ‘em out if you’re feeling particularly open-minded. Also, maybe if you like Dillinger Escape Plan, as I saw quite a few comparisons in the reviews I read (I haven’t heard Dillinger Escape Plan yet [yeah, seriously] ).
To being, “Post-” genres aren’t hard to define. Generally, and this is paraphrasing Wikipedia, a “Post-” genre is characterized by the use of instruments commonly associated with rock music, but using rhythms, harmonies, melodies, timbres, and chord progressions not traditionally found in the original genre. Can something can be “Progressive” and “Post-” is beyond me, but that’s another story.
That being said, I’ve never heard of this band before, but am excited to give them a listen. Just got off the phone with the local record store and they have a couple albums in stock. Looking forward to the new experience!
..I guess that makes sense. Thanks Matt. So its anything with a guitar, bass and drums that’s experimental? I guess? i sort of that that was progressive. I have so much to learn!
I was wondering how I could explain it further and am coming up with learning to play Ragtime Piano on Rock instruments and then playing Death Metal.
I guess I’d need to talk to someone who actually knows something about music theory.
I called my mom and had the genre conversation with her. i gave her the wiki description of “post-” and she said “well isnt that like progressive metal?” I have never been more proud of my mom in my whole life *single tear* lol.
I am trying to wrap my brain around how a concept album about being a dog could be anything but wonderful
It could certainly be wonderful to some! Though, I don’t have any pets.. Check it out and tell me I’m wrong!
Everything up to “Dog’s Eyes” is pure Metal gold. “Dog’s Eyes” doesn’t work on a lot of levels for me, mostly in a composition sense. That chaotic sound on the rest of his discography gives me a warm fuzzy feeling, but his last release seemed to linear for a band capable of being comfortable outside the box.
Nice to hear your agreement Matt. I think sometimes I let my impatience for cheesiness and stubbornness in my old set ways interfere with appreciating music. I know that you, with your appreciation of Power Metal, would be the scale on which to gauge whether my feelings are genuine or based on preconceived notions.
D’aww Shucks, Tyrant.
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Well “post black metal” is anything originating after the original black metal period. Usually anything a decade later or more. Most people just call it black metal, but post would differentiate it from ‘old skool’. Typically it mixes in modern elements like electronics or clean vocals.
To be progressive is to write music with a composition structure that is unconventional and non-circular (not ababa). This term has unfortunately begun to be used to describe any metal act that is unique and weird (sometimes because they use jazz elements instead of classical). Being jazzy in metal is inherently progressive to some degree, being a jazzy metal band does not necessarily make one progressive – just jazzy. Ephel Duath defy classification in my opinion, but my boyfriend declares that they are ‘metal fusion’, because they combine traditional elements of black metal and fuse them with improvisational jazz. Also don’t get experimental confused with progressive or post anything – experimental is just experimental.
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Greetings from Brisbane, Australia. I’ve only been blogging for about 6 months now. I find it quite theraputic to put my thoughts into words on a screen. My favourite theme is Thesis. Thanks for sharing.
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