Hungry for some quality Progressive/Atmospheric Metal? Here we have a really mighty debut by the Spanish band ETERNAL STORM. The band is based in Spain's capital Madrid and was founded in 2009. The band members are all young guns, but most of them active in other bands, most notably the Avant-garde Death Metal band LIQUID GRAVEYARD, a project of John Walker of CANCER fame and his wife Raquel. The biggest influences on the band's style are Melodic Death Metal, especially of the more melancholic, doomy sort, such as INSOMNIUM, BE'LAKOR, ENSHINE or SLUMBER, but I also sense an influence of Atmospheric Black Metal in the vein of AGALLOCH, FALLS OF RAUROS or SAOR, and the songwriting is marked by Progressive tendencies. The different undertones fit together nicely like different color tones in a balanced painting. Call it Atmospheric Death Metal or Progressive Death Metal - labels don't matters much anyway.

The album has a pretty epic scope - it's almost one hour long - and opens with an epic, 14 minutes song "Through the Wall of Light" that is divided into two parts. The song flows like a stream: it opens with a Atmo-Black-esque section with soaring riff and blast-beats, followed by a groovier Melo-Death part. The melodies are powerful but also soothing, the sections flow into one another thanks to the excellent lead guitar work which is very melodic and works very well harmonically as well, giving it that typical Melo-Death bitter-sweetness and dreaminess. The first part has an intense climax, part two has a smooth opening with emotional clean singing and even a saxophone melody. The intensity picks up in a section which has a nice interplay of growled and clean vocals, and the song builds up to an emotional climax.

Other songs, even the shorter ones - the album has two more songs that are longer than ten minutes, the shortest is just under seven minutes long - are all equally dynamic. "Detachment" has a hard-hitting verse with driving riffs and powerful growls, the intensity ebbs out in the chorus. The song has - of course - a nice, tranquil middle section followed by a section with a new melody and a build up to a finale. "Of Winter and Treason" is one of the longer songs on the album, the song has a folky intro with acoustic guitar, the mid-tempo verse is somber and bitter-sweet, the more energetic pre-chorus is followed by an uplifting chorus with those tender INSOMNIUM-esque harmonies. The middle-section here has an angry, sinister vibe, and is followed by a tranquil section. The final part builds up to a big climax with some really sweet - as is the rule on this LP - guitar leads and soloing.

This is great debut, it has - apparently - been long in the making, but the searching and work have paid off: the album came out great and the band is ready for prime time. The songs are dynamic but focused, the musicianship is great, and above all the music, although atmospheric, has bite. Progressive bands have the tendency to make their albums and songs a bit overblown, ETERNAL STORM are not guilty of that. I don't like, for example, how they put a faux ending into the last song "Embracing Waves," but the final part is indeed glorious. Maybe the album could benefit from a tad more restraint, but overall I can't dislike anything on here and there is so much to like. This is an absolutely fantastic debut and to me one of the essential Atmospheric Death albums of 2019.