Ephel Duath – Hemmed by Light, Shaped by Darkness (Review)

Italian Avant-Garde Metal band Ephel Duath return once again with their new album.

Not quite as off-the-wall as some of their previous releases, Ephal Duath could still never be described as a “normal” band. And who would want that anyway?

The songs twist and turn, describing elements of Metal, Post-Metal, Hardcore, Progressive Rock, Jazz and everything in-between. The capability of the musicians is not in question, but rather the songs themselves – do they work? For the most part yes; if you’re up for the challenge then they’re up to the task.

Once you accept that musically these are not your average compositions, I imagine the biggest sticking point for some listeners would be the vocalist as she has a voice that can be quite an acquired taste on occasion. When she’s not bellowing out pure aggression her voice is somewhere between clean and rough. Her sometimes-unusual sound takes a little getting used to at first, but once you’ve acclimatized it becomes quite endearing after a while.

This is a complex listen and not everyone will appreciate its multi-faceted delivery, but persevere and there are some real gems to be found here.

Favourite Track: Tracing The Path of Blood. Description fails me at this point; it’s just a damn good listen.

The same could be said for the entire album; not easy to describe, not easy to get into, but rewarding once you do.

Step into their world.