Ephel Duath - Hemmed by Light, Shaped by Darkness (2013)

Constantly expecting something interesting and revealing from Ephel Duath, today we find out that “Hemmed by Light, Shaped by Darkness” is just a continuation of their previous EP with no clear direction and skilled (but aimlessly) guitar riffing and tight drumming. While we surely enjoyed their previous EP, we can’t help to feel a bit frustrated by the repetitive style and direction of this full-length release.

Opening with “Fearless Under My Skin” and “Tracing the Path of Blood”, the band fully explodes into their unique weirdness and unconventional Avant-garde Jazzy style. However, nothing really feels new or unique, just a continuation of “On Death and Cosmos”. Adding into the mix the production of Eric Rutan (and some vocals on the first track), this release sounds like a million bucks, but the problem is just how convoluted the music is.

There are some excellent drumming sections by Marco Minnemann, but the overall result seems a bit disconnected and rambling at times. If you pay attention to the opening seconds of tracks 4, 5 and 6, you hear an eerily familiar sound that to us feels like cutting corners or just sticking too much to a certain formula. But not all is bad since you have excellent exploratory tracks like “Hemmed By Light”, that have  that improvisation feeling, something that should have been explored more.

Overall, we are quite disappointed on the lack of originality and direction of this release. Yes, it is a fact that Ephel Duath is quite a unique outfit, but the band’s music in this release is quite repetitive and contrived. The guitar playing and drumming skills are top-notch, but this does not always translate to good music, and “Hemmed by Light, Shaped by Darkness” is the perfect example. We hear very similar elements used through different songs, and while being huge fans of the band, we have to say that this album is not quite up to their standards.

Label: Agonia Records

Release: November 26th, 2013 (North America)

Genre: Avant-garde Jazz/Metal

Country: Italy / USA