It’s never easy to remain completely anonymous in the Internet age and as many will agree a lot of the mystique has disappeared with bands eventually finding themselves unmasked. We are naturally not talking about the big arena playing group’s whose name I won’t sully this serious band’s art with in the same review but even those lurking in the underground eventually get rumbled. Ea are a good example of one band who probably never will be. Now reaching their fifth release they are still shrouded in complete mystery and not even country of origin is known for sure. Some think Russia no doubt due to location of their label who have housed them since that first album, others America but hopefully nothing more will ever be revealed. I have enjoyed the group’s (if it is a group and not just one person which it theoretically could be) work for some time. Their music always seems to take me on a journey and without wanting to sound clichéd one through time itself as listening to it feels like civilisations are coming and going in its wake. As with last self-titled album ‘Ea’ we are taken on one long completely immersive journey spanning 49 minutes of music. Before playing it is essential to shut out the outside world and give it your complete attention.
A rumbling sound and splash of waves takes into dark waters and choral chanting devotionally ebbs in. Are we in some Lovecraftian void? What is being worshipped? The touch of Dagon perhaps? But there are no answers forthcoming, certainly not from the monochromatic shades of the album booklet although it does look like it is illustrating stones under water. It is basically left to you the listener to do your own homework and unlock your own imagination here. That is what to me makes this all so compelling. The music expands naturally as guitar chords and slow drumming join and eventually a mournful solo wraps itself around and the pace picks up. There are low growling vocals, you won’t make out what is being said; that is further mystery for you to ponder. The rigorous riffs have attention and the bass definition is well pronounced. Although essentially if this has to be categorised it would probably be labelled as funeral doom it has reached slow doom death territory here. You can name all the likely names if you want to and looking back I did last time I reviewed Ea but it is kind of superfluous doing so and unnecessary and just lead you into wondering if the band are members of any of them.
It is music that is heavily ritualistic and it gives the feeling if it were ever played live a church, possibly a deconsecrated one would be the perfect setting, not that this is ever going to happen. It’s not long before the music builds to a peak becoming really strident with guitar riffs at a frenzy that you could easily head bang to. This is not a piece of music that is going to take the entire length of to hit the fastest point but one that will play with moods of pace like it does with your very emotions when digesting it all. It’s a brief flurry but one that’s welcome and breathes life into things making it more than one dimensional. Having played this at length quite a few times the good thing about ‘A Etilla’ is not once have I found myself in the slightest bit bored, which can be an all too easy trap to fall into as far as playing a style like this over such a long track. The choral parts are left as the only loud harmonious part at one point and they suddenly drop completely out leaving you realising just how loud they were when you are left with just a lone maudlin strum in their place. There are many shades of light and dark here, the uplifting choral surge being the former and this the latter. Rugged and weathered vocals suddenly snap out of the melancholia and essentially we are still not even at the half way mark, there is plenty more to be unveiled within the depths of the piece. I don’t at all feel like I am copping out by leaving further descriptions and the review at this point, you should by now have got a very good taste of what to expect here and no doubt formulated whether this is a journey you would be willing to partake in yourself. Besides it would be completely wrong to ruin all sense of mystery behind such mysterious work now wouldn’t it? Enter this enthralling world at the link below.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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