Country of origin:United States

Location:Battle Ground, Washington

Status:Active

Formed in:2012

Genre:Black Metal

Lyrical themes:Suicide, Depression, Misanthropy, Nothingness

Current label:Neckbrace Records

CosmicCult, April 3rd, 2017
Written based on this version: 2015, Digital, Independent

It is unlikely for a conservative depressive black metal band to explore other fields in the subgenre. In fact, I only know two bands that have successfully done it. One is Deadlife, which crossed the line into the most conventional atmospheric sound. The other one, of course, is the subject to be reviewed. Eternal Valley started with a marked depressive style and, after four full length albums and one EP, Orszar (yes, it is a one-man band) decided to emerge from the hole of woefulness and try and reach the stars. This was a smart move, because I’ve always thought of Eternal Valley as a decent yet regular DSBM band, but that is not the case anymore.

The songwriting is much more developed, the song structures are more complex and the lyrics are more relevant in terms of transcendence. Not only has he evolved in the songwriting, but also in the sound quality. Until this album, he recorded all his music with an iPad (check the Facebook if you don’t believe that); now he uses a synth, a keyboard, a micro and a module.

Although the sound from the previous works has been clearly improved, it is still quite primitive. The cornerstone of this album isn’t the technical aspects neither the vocal singing; it is the mentioned clever and concise songwriting.

The electronic instruments play a very important part generating the entire atmosphere. The ominous keyboards, together with the ethereal synths give the impression of really being ascending to the unknown (as the album title suggests) and also act as a choir. The guitar and vocal work is mild, they aren’t meant to stand out; their main function is to merge with the electronic devices, creating a whole.

There are nine tracks, three of them instrumental. Except for "Celestial Ascension" (which is an interlude) all of them are above six minutes long, which makes sense because of the subgenre within black metal. The songs are generally slow in terms of pace and the melody is very peaceful and epic, really close to being oneiric. The only exception here is "Within the Frozen Star" being the most aggressive of them all, with fast yet heavy riffs and harsh vocals.

My favorite two tracks (considering that all of them have a really high quality) are "Infinite Planetary Allure" and "Cassiopea A". I picked those two because they are a materialization of what I said in the previous paragraph. The first one really gives you the sensation or the impression of being travelling at the speed of light ascending the unexplored deep space with melancholic riffs and epic effects; the second one has a very clever use of synths that replicates choirs or female voices, with a really unexpected guitar solo towards the end (quite unusual to be honest).

"Ascend to the Unknown" is a turning point for Eternal Valley, an evolutionary turnaround and a success journey to the stars.