Other World
Entheogen
From their Facebook page, ENTHEOGEN "is a musical group which expresses esoteric hunches into Progressive, chaotic yet soothing waveform constructs. Drift off to catch glimpses of an other world, and injects their expressive pieces into the auditory spectrum that breezes over Ghent's treetops." "Other World" contains five tracks.
"Entering the Other World" leads off the album. It's a short, just under two-minute opening instrumental. The tones are very hushed. "Fade In" begins with some guitar pyrotechnics, and then the sound drops to a whisper. Spoken word leads to harsh vocals and a thick, heavy sound. It waxes and wanes several time throughout, and a secondary riff picks up after the half-way mark, building some dark concepts, taking the track to completion. "Disintegration" is just over seven-minutes in length. It opens with some clean guitar tones and a feeling of darkness. Harsh vocals abound in a sequenced cadence. The sound drops a bit after the half-way mark, and then picks back up with a guitar solo.
"of Remembrance" begins with Black Metal style vocals, and a rough, choppy cadence. Heavy doses of guitar work build to a more amalgam style of music here that is hard to categorize. "Mountainous Wave" closes the album. It opens with some glittering leads and thick, heavy bass notes. It's mid-tempo in pace. Some melodious tones follow, gentle as the breeze. A guitar solo breaks out and then the sound drops again. Some sad and heavy tones carry the track to completion.
Overall, I was not sure what to make of this album. It's quite original and hard to label. Some Progressive tones mix in with some Black Metal tones, and the vocals are kept to a minimum for the most part. It was expressive in many ways, but lost me a few times along the ride. The more ambient passages are nicely done, as are the harsh ones, but the transitions in and out of these passages are hard and not smooth. I like what I hear, and hope the band can bring it all together for a future release.
7 / 10
Good
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"Other World" Track-listing:
1. Entering the Other World
2. Fade In
3. Disintegration
4. of Remembrance
5. Mountainous Wave
Entheogen Lineup:
Laurens De Cock - Guitar, Vocals
Keyvan Valamenesh - Guitars
Anton Hellemans - Bass
Chevy Mahieu - Drums, Percussion
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