Ephel Duath “The Painter’s Palette” (2003)

Ephel Duath is one of the few qualitative bands that I have discovered through an add in a magazine. “The Dillinger Escape Plan of black metal” the add said. Wrong. Ephel Duath left their Emperor-like black metal behind after the debut-album Phormula. Think “Dillinger Escape Plan playing noisy bebop”, and you’re approaching The Painter’s Palette. When most metal bands who incorporate jazzy elements are satisfied with some walking basslines and swing-beats, Ephel Duath truly merges the genres. Hell, the drummer and bassplayer are professional middle-aged jazz/fusion musicians who never played metal before! Add to this a maniac trumpet (played by a Miles Davis-wannabe) and a lot of electronica (mostly drum&bass-beats), and you have the amazing mess called Ephel Duath.

The song structures are extremely dynamic, shifting within seconds from pleasantly floating and melodic segments to chaotic outbursts of noisy hardcorejazz, with arrangements sometimes so intricate it’s silly. After three years of listening, I still hear melodies and noises previously unheard! This is also Ephel Duath’s Achilles Heel. They want so much, that it at times become too chaotic and confused. And after a while, you realize that there behind the walls of cool basslines and drumbeats and samples and screams, there isn’t that much left. Davide Tiso, guitarist and main maniac, is a great guitarist and visionaire, but his riffs and solos aren’t that marvellous. But then again, the bass and drums are so magnificent, both technically and melodically, that I would buy the CD without anything else on it. As a bassist, I can’t help loving this bands rythm section. Vocal duties are shared by two singers; an incredibly pissed-off screamer, and a cheesy quite annoying melodic singer (who luckily left after this album), and Davide Tiso’s lyrics are both personal and very well written, each lyrics’ emotion corresponding to the different colour on the Palette of the Painter. At lengths, a quite tedious and annoying album, but most of the time highly impressive and worth all of your attention.

-aVoid

VITALS:

Release:  2003
Label:  Elitist Records
Avantgenre:  Chaotic Jazzcore/Metal Fusion
Duration:  46:33
Origin:  Italy
Official site:  http://www.ephelduath.net/
Review online since:  28.05.2007 / 15:38:38

TRACKLIST: I. The Passage (pearl Grey) II. The Unpoetic Circle (bottle Green) III. Labyrinthine (crimson) IV. Praha (ancient Gold) V. The Picture (bordeaux) VI. Ruins (deep Blue And Violet) VII. Ironical Communion (amber) VIII. My Glassy Shelter (dirty White) IX. The Other’s Touch (amaranth)