Ephel Duath "The Painter's Palette" CD
[Elitist]
Hot motherfucking damn! This former duo from Italy is back with a new (and thankfully complete) lineup and an entirely new sound that is leaps and bounds ahead of their previous work, in my opinion completely erasing everything they've done to date while solidifying them as one of the most talented and creative bands out there right now. And to think, I almost never listened to this record because their last album bored me so I didn't care that they had something new out... Don't make that mistake! I don't care if you hated their last record and thought it was the worst thing you've ever heard - this is better, so much better in fact that I would state without question that this is one of the best records I've heard all year. Forget the quirky electronic-tinged black metal crap that they were plying before: This is obscenely technical and creative progressive metal with a massive dose of jazz and some of the best musicianship I've heard in ages! The drumming is absolutely incredible, completely fluid and flawless, flashy when it needs to be, laidback when the other instruments come to the front. The guitar parts are complexly arranged so that multiple lines weave together to form the whole, with intricate bass runs flying away just underneath. And the vocalists unleash a blend of aggressive screaming/shouting or beautiful singing, depending on the tone of the music. (Sadly the singing vocalist has already quit the band, which is a damn shame, but hopefully they'll find a suitable replacement.) Seriously, this is just incredible, mind-blowing work. From smooth jazz breaks with funky slap bass runs to wild time signatures and changes, to billowing solos or distorted rhythms with plenty of tasteful dissonance and melody, everything displayed on this record is interesting to me. I think the recording is excellent as well, with lots of little nuances in the mix to keep things fresh and interesting. It's a very dry and natural set of tones, not to mention clear. There's a nice bass presence, superb panning, excellent interaction between layers of different guitar parts working together, and some additional electronic textures and trumpet are employed on occasion to add extra experimentation to their already diverse bag of tricks. I might mix the aggressive vocals a bit lower and give the bass more of a constant presence, but these are minor possibilities. Nothing sounds too far off the mark. There's also CD-Rom content that includes a photo gallery, lyrics, pre-production audio of "Ruins" (though highly compressed), notes about the new direction of the band, and a video - which is sadly from a track on their last record, and therefore of basically zero interest to me, especially considering the sheer brilliance of this record by comparison. The layout is all in black and white, tastefully repeating similar paintings that seem like abstract references to internal organs or something of that nature. There are some individual band photos in the center spread, and all of the cryptic lyrics are included: "Conceal this fool architecture from my (singing) conviction. Blind my cyclopean, trifling dreads, and dethrone the useless days from my infested eyes. Irony, my care." The lyrics often reference painting or painting techniques, which is fitting as each track title is also given a representative color (pearl grey, ancient gold, amber, etc.) suggestive of its musical properties. Even though some of "the new" Ephel Duath's riffing brings to mind a couple of other bands at times, I absolutely refuse to compare what they're doing to any other musicians, because I feel that this is a truly original effort and I would insist that should the very notion of such music interest you in the least you should acquire this CD immediately. All it took was the first 30 seconds of the first track to hook me, and I ordered the CD literally within minutes of checking out some samples. As much a jazz record as it is a metal record, "The Painter's Palette" is the first release with which the Elitist label is finally starting to live up to its name. Get this now. My words simply cannot do the music justice. (9/10)
Running time - 46:27, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: The Passage (Pearl Grey), Labyrinthine (Crimson), Ruins (Deep Blue and Violet), My Glass Shelter (Dirty White), and all of the others...]
Ephel Duath - http://www.ephelduath.net

This review has been displayed 2659 times.