Liste des groupes Death Atmosphérique Ethereal Blue Essays in Rhyme on Passion & Ethics

Ok, I have no excuses. I took my sweet little time to review this. But in the end, I think it was in the best interest of the band. Ethereal Blue, a Greek band, was first described to me as being "Black Metal" and on the very first listens I gave their debut "Essays in Rhyme s on Passion & Ethics” I was quite disappointed. Well, I was expecting a Black Metal band and all I could find was something almost pop with very few hints at Black Metal. And I was like "what the fuck". Would I have written this review at this moment, I probably would have ruined it and wrote garbage about this band.

Turns out it paid to listen to it more and more so I could get the essence of it. So yes, strictly speaking, this is no Black Metal album in the way most picture it. There is the gritty sound of guitars associated with the genre and even some shrieking vocals but there is so much more to Ethereal Blue's music. Add a few hints of Death Metal vocals and a very high dose of 70s prog and pop and you'll be beginning to grasp the full intent of it.

The guitars as I just wrote are more on the Black Metal side though they have some hardcore noisy vibe about them. Sometimes they lean more on the Voivod, Nothingface era, side, sometimes it’s almost as if they’d take something from Opeth. The tracks are long but varied enough as in Blue Oyster Cult or some Rush on acid and they have a catchy feeling to them as well mainly thanks to the several styles of vocals displayed here and there, grunts, shrieks and clean vocals make up the whole thing as if telling a story.

Although the material is catchy, you'll find yourself begging for some privacy when listening to Ethereal Blue. It’s not, by essence, the kind of music you play with your pals to drink a few beers. It’s more the introvert kind that allows for some self-voyage of the senses. It may even bit too overwhelming at first, which most likely explained my initial “what the fuck” reaction.

All in all, a very solid record from a very promising record. I wish they'd drop the "Aphrodite's Child" pop that is almost palpable from time to time and get even more into the depths of their music to make it even more beautiful and traumatic. A less polished production would probably help them as well, but it’s just personal taste and after all not anything that would diminish the experience.

If you get your hands on this debut, try to be a little bit more open-minded than I was at first. It will guarantee for a formidable experience and save you the hassles of misconception coming from the, sometimes, stupid labeling of bands. Most especially for bands that encompass more than one genre which Ethereal Blue is just yet another perfect example.