Independent Release
Review by Warren Mayocchi
“Obscure Illusions” is an album that has been incubating for a long time. Ethernity was formed by brothers Julien and Nicolas Spreutels and their cousin François Spreutels in the year 2000. Since then some of the songs on “Obscure Illusions” were released on demos produced in 2005, 2008 and 2010. So, even though this is a debut album, the band have been together and performing at gigs, music festivals, and supporting other bands for literally years. According to the band, they spent four years to find their lead vocalist in 2005 – Julie Colin. The final two members of the band are Thomas Henry who joined in the early days and Gregory Discensa who joined in 2007. It is obvious that Ethernity like to play powerful metal, and I can imagine them playing in front of large enthusiastic audiences. Perhaps it has been their live music fans that have kept them from the studio all these years.
In their own words Ethernity play progressive power metal. For the first ten songs the band keeps a tight rein on their sound – they almost bristle with the energy that I think that their live audiences must have been enjoying. The sound is large, the instruments are masterfully played and the band is well-knit. They all work together to make the songs work hard. Here I would like to talk about Julie Colin, she is a singer worth taking four years to find. One of the first things that I noticed on listening to this album was the strength of her voice – she is singing in a power metal band and she still comes across with a powerful rock voice. She reminds me of Lzzy Hale of Halestorm. Having said that, the rest of the band have to be great to complement such a voice, and Ethernity are up to the task.
Keyboards play an important part in most songs – particularly in the slower passages, sounding almost classical in places. My favourite songs on the album are “Alone” and “Secret Door”. These songs feature keyboard passages and great guitar riffing. This is where I think that the band is at their best, but everyone who is fan of the genre will find something to love on this album. The final two tracks on the album – “Interlude” and then “Obscure Illusions” at fourteen and a half minutes – display a more experimental side of the band with varying passages and three guest artists (Tom E. Englund, Kelly Sundown Carpenter and Mark Basile). This is a great debut album, so hopefully they will find fans who will demand that they continue making and recording music.
Rating – 87/100
Tracklist
- False Lamentations
- Entities
- Shadows On The Wall
- Secret Door
- Never Thought (You Would Make Me Go)
- Rancor
- Alone
- Broken Memories
- After All Has Turned To Pain
- XIII
- Interlude
- Obscure Illusions
Line Up
- Julie Colin – Vocals
- Thomas Henry – Guitar
- Gregory Discenza – Lead Guitar
- Julien Spreutels – Keyboards
- François Spreutels – Bass
- Nicolas Spreutels – Drums
Links