| Esoteric emotions: the death of ignorance (Demo) | 1993 | No Label |
'Esoteric emotions' is a very interesting demo that already shows a band with a unique style and a lot of potential. This is extremely slow, heavy and monotonous music with some psychedelic effects and highly distorted vocals. The first emotion which springs to mind after listening to this album, is hate. The band sounds tortured, misanthropic and indifferent for any metal trends. That alone makes this demo interesting for ultradoom freaks.
There are two brilliant tracks in this demo, the hateful 'In solitude' and the 17 minute long, heavy as hell masterpiece 'Eyes of darkness'. The rest of the tracks don't always reach the level we are used to expect from a band like Esoteric, with the exception of a few parts. One of the reasons for this is that the guitars, although they sound powerful, are not that well-produced: they are extremely low tuned, which makes it hard to hear the chords changing at times.
But all in all, this is an interesting release for those doom fans who dare to explore the most extreme and dark corners of the doom universe and an almost essential release for Esoteric fans.
Note: available through www.mp3.com.
CD1:
1. Esoteric
2. In Solitude
3. Enslavers of The Insecure
4. Scarred
CD2:
1. Eyes Of Darkness
2. Infanticidal Fantasies
3. Expectations Of Love
4. The Laughter Of The Ignorant
Approx. 77 minutes
| Epistemological Despondency (Double CD) | 1994 | Aesthetic Death |
There are some pretty good reasons why this cover is used: Esoteric's music is an incredible trip through unsuspected subconscious realms. Ultraslow doom death combined with scary psychedelic echo and reverb effects, make the sound huge and psychotic and let you understand why most people are too scared to confront their own dark side. The entire album almost completely lacks any melody with the exception of a few almost "groovy" guitar solo’s that refer to ’70 hardrock and stoner rock.
The misanthropic lyrics and the impressive catalogue in the booklet featuring all those who can "fuck off and die" according to the band, suggest the creative genious of a band that only make music for themselves and don’t care about anything or anyone (or maybe the psychopathic personalities of the band members?). The production is suprisingly lower in comparison with their demo, but this underground sound somehow fits better with the hateful, misanthropic and devoid of any sense or hope music. With other words, this is music for the few, but those few know damned well how addictive it can get!
CD1:
1. Bereft
2. Only Hate (Baresark)
3. The Noise of Depression
CD2:
1. Lamented Despondency
2. Eradification (of Thorns)
3. Awaiting My Death
Approx. 89 minutes
| The pernicious enigma (Double CD) | 1997 | Aesthetic Death |
The very depressive, melancholic intro of the first track, suggests that those guys are actually familiar with the concept "melody"…although they don't apply it too often. Doom fans that are only familiar with the works of bands like My Dying Bride and Anathema, may think after those first five minutes that Esoteric have a sound similar to those bands (especially the melancholic lead guitar sound reminds of Anathema's 'Pentecost III'). But after those five minutes…they'll probably get scared the hell out of them. The familiar Esoteric chaos returns, with a plethora of vocal, bass and guitar effects, extremely tortured, intelligible death grunts and hysterical screams and an overall atmosphere that reminds all too much of a bad trip…the production is not that low any more, although it's still as dark as their previous work, this time leaving more space for the trippy, terrifying effects to unfold.
The tracks still have an average length of about 12 minutes…except the short, aggressive death/grind track 'At war with the race', whose title once again suggests that those guys will never be best friends with the rest of humanity. I haven't heard anyone complaining about the length of their tracks yet, nor about the fact that they always produce double cd's (apparently because they use their music to get high themselves). There is nothing left to say, except maybe…help yourselves, depressive souls, and get this release…
CD1:
1. Creation (Through Destruction)
2. Dominion of Slaves
3. Allegiance
4. NOXBC9701040
CD2:
1. Sinistrous
2. At War With The Race
3. A Worthless Dream
4. Stygian Narcosis
5. Passing Through Matter
Approx. 115 minutes
| Metamorphogenesis (CD) | 1999 | Eibon |
Those who have heard Esoteric's previous works, know exactly what to expect, but they should keep in mind that this work is their most powerful and best-produced effort up to date. The only problem is the length of this work, it's not a double cd any more…but its musical level and intensity compensate for this without problems. Also the abstract, original artwork make this work worth your money. There is no other band like Esoteric!
1. Dissident
2. The Secret of The Secret
3. Psychotropic Transgression
Approx. 44 minutes
| Subconscious Dissolution into the Continuum (CD) | 2003 | No label |
It is therefore with trembling hands that I opened this promo package I received for review. The first thing that struck me is the extraordinary, absolutely professional packaging (in a DVD box!) and sombre yet extremely powerful artwork, probably the most effective and captivating that the band has ever displayed thus far. Add to this the extensive information in the promo sheet with coloured pictures of the album covers, the lyrics etc and you understand that we already had a winner at that stage. And this before I even came to what matters most: the music.
As usual with this band, I had to lock myself in my room and give the album countless spins to be able to fully absorb the music. I don't know many other bands whose music takes that long to grow on me. But let me tell you brothers and sisters in darkness: once it did, it didn't let me go any more…
Subconscious Dissolution… is the logical continuation of the sound which the band have been improving and expanding on since their demo, already more than 10 years ago now. Once again the production and song textures have become more subtle and intricate while the lyrics are more philosophical than ever. And the band has achieved all this without losing anything of their original intensity, power and misanthropy.
Quite similarly to their previous work 'Metamorphogenesis', the album consists again of three lengthy tracks which are complemented with a short outro this time. However, where the emphasis in their previous work was laid on the creation of a bombastic, hallucinogenic atmosphere, this album sounds more introverted, as if the band's enormously aggressive power has been consciously suppressed; as if the creators of this inhuman music are scared to unleash the dark subconscious powers from within themselves, terrified of the possible damage they might cause.
Opener 'Morphia' starts off -similarly to the previous album- without intros and other add-ins: it gets straight to the point with an unworldly, beautiful theme which is repeated throughout the song until the familiar chaos sets in and takes everything in its grip. The track has a strange beauty, almost Pink Floydish in its ability to take the listener to a trip in a world devoid of all limitations and frustrations of the human existence.
'The Blood of the Eyes' opens with the already classic phrase: 'I have not seen myself for ages/This empty shell cares no longer for life'.. It sets the mood for the track which has moved me most since Skepticism's ultimate masterpiece 'The march and the stream'. Words can not describe the abysmal melancholy which lays hidden behind the lyrics and music of this song, it’s an experience which has to be felt. At such moments I feel privileged to be able to 'grasp' the pain and frustration laid down on these compositions. As I get shivers down my spine, I know that this is a place I've been before myself and although I don't wish to go there any more, I keep playing the track over and over again. It feels like some sort of cathartic experience, as if I'm reviving old traumas, like a traumatized child that is obsessively seeking to bring back the painful experience in its game role playing. This therapeutic effect is in my opinion the essence of dark music.
'Grey day' is perhaps more of a 'typical' Esoteric track displaying the familiar space effects and crushing heaviness. Compared to previous works, one could say that there are less psychedelic effects in this album at first sight, a more careful observation however reveals that they are still there, but well-hidden in the background behind the massive wall of sound. It proves that a good production is absolutely essential for this unique band to be able to unleash its full potential.
All in all, and despite the lengthy review, I would say that no reviews are needed for those who already appreciate this band, as they are going to love this material anyway. For those who are not familiar with this outfit yet, I can highly recommend this album for a start, as it contains all 'classic' Esoteric characteristics, but with an increased level of subtlety and sophistication as well. You can safely say that Esoteric have influenced some bands. However none displays the same immediacy, emotional power, surprising sophistication and well-orchestrated song structures -despite the ever-present brutality and intensity.
This is only a promo, as the band is currently negotiating a label deal. Therefore it doesn’t really count as a 2003 release. However, I already know my favourite album for 2004, as miracles must happen to prevent Subconscious Dissolution of claiming this title.
1. Morphia
2. The Blood of the Eyes
3. Grey Day
4. Arcane Dissolution
Approx. 50 minutes