This album was originally released by Italy’s Code666 under the title of "Phormula". Lee Barrett (founder of Candlelight Records) signed them to his Elitist label which recently joined forces with Earache. While they are in the studio putting the finishing touches on their Earache debut the label saw fit to re-issue the original “Phormula” in it’s entirety with a couple remixes and three tracks from their “Opera” demo. The CD was remastered by Tim Turan (Emperor and Opeth) but since I haven’t heard the original release of “Phormula” I can’t comment on the remastering.

This is a bizarre black metal creation. Think Emperor under hypnosis convinced that they are musicians from the 22nd century and you’d begin to get the idea. Don’t get me wrong, while the Emperor influence is there Ephel Duath is not another Emperor clone. This two-man band mixes complex guitar riffage with multi-layered synths and insane rum programming. Don’t let the lack of “real” drums frighten you off; they certainly don’t sound electronic (with the exception of the two remixes). Song tempos are all over the place, from mid-paced to hyperblast speeds. Vocals are what you’d expect from a black metal band, high-pitched screeches dominate the album tracks. The demo tracks contain some of the clean Viking-style vocals but it seems they have abandoned that style for the CD.

I have but two criticisms of this album, one being that the guitar mix could have been a bit louder and two being that we just don’t need another Tolkien inspired band name! Those are minor complaints though for an overall high quality release. While I can’t recommend this one hundred percent it is a worthy purchase for those who are into more recent Emperor (and/or the legions of Emperor clones) or black metal fans who are looking for something fresh and epic sounding to rattle their eardrums.

Track list:
1. The Embossed
2. Greynesses Grow Already Old
3. The Danza
4. The Flickering Warmth
5. Myriads
6. Phormula
7. The Blow’s Rhymers
8. Insomnia’s Desert
9. Embossed (On the Corpse) (remix by Homo Homini Loops)
10. Instinkt (remix by PASO)
11. Opera I
12. Adulta Hieme: The Magnificence
13. Falling

http://ephel.cjb.net
(Earache/Elitist) Rating: 7 /10