Label: Season of Mist
Review by Warren Mayocchi
Death metal for meditation. “Ankaa” is not only the album name, but it is also the brightest star in the phoenix constellation. Perhaps Eths are sending us a message? Their line-up has changed with Stéphane Bihl (guitar, vocals) and Damien Rivoal (bass) continuing from the last album. Rachel Aspe (vocals) has joined since then and Dirk Verbeuren (drums) worked with the band for the studio recording. The album is full of everything including excellence: electronics, heavy guitars, atmospheric female vocals, Arabic chanting, choirs, male and female growling vocals, symphonic elements. Moving from lingering, almost silence, through contemplative keyboards, to in-your-face screaming it is difficult to pick a couple of songs on which to focus. “Nihil Sine Causa” is a wonderful song, not the only song on the album to use Arabic chanting, but I love how it drifts between various vocal and musical styles. “HAR1” stands for “human accelerated region 1” – it is a part of the genome involved in the development of the human brain. It is also the seventh track on “Ankaa”. It begins the second half of the album which is generally slower than the first half of fast paced mayhem, but no less intense. In the second half the growling remains, but it is somewhat reserved, the music is lead by the marching drums and dripping keyboards – expect for when it isn’t. “HAR1” has a clean male vocal for most of the song with whispers/screams interspersed. The only thing I did not like were the cries of an upset baby on “Nixi Dii” – just not my preference in music (but the rest of the song is rather awesome!). As they are an established band Eths have a lot of content on YouTube, just remember Rachel is new to the band, so their older content will not feature her. “Ankaa” is a fantastic album worthy of more than a listen – keep it playing – every time I play it there seems to be something new to enjoy. As this is my first experience with Eths I cannot say if this is a rebirth for them, but their star definitely is bright on “Ankaa”.
Rating – 89/100
Tracklist
- Nefas
- Nihil Sine Causa
- Amaterasu
- Seditio
- Nixi Dii
- Vae Victis
- HAR1
- Sekhet Aaru
- Kumari Kandam
- Alnitak
- Alnilam
- Mintaka
Line Up
- Rachel Aspe – Vocals
- Stéphane Bihl – Guitar & Vocals
- Damien Rivoal – Bass
- Dirk Verbeuren – Drums
Links