Eibon “s/t” CD

Released at the very end of last year by Aesthetic Death, this self-titled, two-song EP marks the debut solo release from French doom/sludge act Eibon, after a split CD with Hangman's Chair in 2007. Both compositions, "Asleep and Threatening" and "Staring at the Abyss", top 10 minutes and are packed with pulsing, pounding rhythms that keep things interesting with creeping undercurrents of dissonance and aren't so slow that they crumble into drones or become stagnant. Combined with absolutely vicious, scathing snarls it all amounts to a surprisingly powerful 22-and-a-half minutes that really does hold your interest quite nicely. Some very effective little atmospheric elements are buried in the mix amidst all of the low-end throbs and crushingly distorted power chords as well, from beautiful acoustic passages and subtle ambient hums to eerie feedback swells and melodic leads. As I've stated in the past, I'm not a huge follower of this particular scene simply due to the fact that it's lower on my priority list in terms of all the different music out there to try and keep up with. But that being said, I can still recognize when a band really delivers the goods, and this EP is an extremely promising effort that absolutely hits the mark. I have a shitty attention span, and there aren't a ton of bands out there that can get me to sit through back-to-back 10+ minute tracks without getting bored. Eibon succeeds, and rather effortlessly, I might add. Great feeling, great songwriting, great recording... what more do you need?

Eibon "Asleep and Threatening" (excerpt)

Buying from the band will be extremely pricey if you're outside Europe, but thankfully they seem to have at least a couple of stateside distributors, so... make the grab if you like what you hear. And if you're a doom fan, I can't imagine that not being the case!

Get It

Eibon
All That is Heavy
Red Stream