What I love about Earache Records is the diversity of the band on its label. I was at a show last weekend at Irving Plaza (all non-Earache bands) and I couldn't believe what a bland grind-core borefest it was.

Ephel Duath is really something unique - imagine the early free-form jazz freak-out sound of the early King Crimson with a doom/death leanings. On this disc, the band took their jazz-influenced 2005 CD, Pain Necessary to Know, deconstructed it and remixed it with dark-wave Aphex Twin style beats. The deconstruction was composed by musician/producer Eraldo Bernocchi, who has collaborated with a wide range of musicians ranging from ambient/avant-garde composer Harold Budd to house/dub pioneer Bill Laswell.

This is really a thinking man's metal CD and it isn't a contradiction to note that there is very little metal on this disc. The disc is divided into nine tracks, all bearing the title "Hole". These aren't songs per se but more textures and musical landscapes. This isn't to say this is an ambient-stlye disc (ala Eno or Budd) as the musical styles on this disc range the spectrum from dark metal to progressive dub.

While there is a good bit of diversity between the tracks, the disc flows as a cohesive unit. Across all of the tracks, vocals are minimal and just serve as another instrument/sound that fits within the musical landscape. This isn't the sort of CD where you will play specific tracks as the disc as a whole is more 'experiential' and needs to be listened to end-to-end.

Ephel Duath has a new studio album scheduled for sometime next year.

Links:
Earache Records
Ephel Duath's MySpace page