Review Summary: The best metal is both hopeless and hopeful
There’s always something a bit special about an act releasing a full length after a prolonged spell and Belgian melodic death doomsters Ethereal Darkness are no exception. When new record “Echoes” came up on my feed I had to remind myself of their past, a single debut album, “Smoke and Shadows” in 2019, with a few scattered singles in between. It could mean two things - the band have been bogged down irl and/or have been careful to perfect a release that meets lofty self standards. And it doesn’t take long to appreciate the time spent as opener “Gone With The Tide” sweeps magnificently into view with an ethe-really dark melody. It’s the sort of opening fellow purveyors Eternal Storm would spawn yet it merely serves as a precursor to the magic to come.
Casual observers might mistake “The Cycle” to be a recycle but this is Ethereal Darkness boldly going up a gear. Shaping up with a massive wall of tremolo picking in the front half belies the cutting impact of the potent breakdown riffs at midpoint and three quarter marks. It’s this condensed quality that comes with a long gestation period and a private honing of the art. Even if accustomed to wild transitions by the likes of recent Saor and Ereb Altor, these riffs have bite and exactly what melodic metal is all about. Lead songwriter Lars Ruiz has certainly arrived through “Echoes” with “Winter” a true reflection of his vision for dark, emotional and epic melodic death doom. The clean vocals hold much weight and paired with the polar rasps levitate and devastate. “Winter” especially has an epic purity that swells me like Enshine’s “Elevation”accomplished earlier this year. It’s great to find these moments.
With six 10-minute compositions across the hour running time, “Echoes” strikes an even balance including fourth track “IV”. Ethereal darkness here seamlessly meld death and black with melodies alluring and enduring. Persuaded by the album art, there is a skyward gaze in “IV” as meaning is sought for “the endless pain of a broken bond” where grief eventually gives way to hope, with Ruiz vowing “when the end comes it shall not find me with fear, as we’ll reunite again in the nothingness”. This thematic passage of despondency to philosophy echoes throughout the record and with “Echoes”, the band have risen to sit comfortably alongside the melancholic melodeath echelon.
To this end Ethereal darkness implicitly know that to pull off this style, an intricate tapestry of soundscapes, vocal variety and riffs is to be created and sustained as is the case with “On The Edge Of The Cliff”. This track especially breathes with organic riffs that are presented in their best light/sound, a credit to Dan Swanö’s mixing and mastering detail, even with the subject matter the darkest of the six. The guitar harmonies are layered to great effect in the doom laced “Realization”, sharing similitude with “Winter’s Gate” Insomnium, the masters of hopeless and hopeful to round out a certified epic of 2026.
