bio - RELEASES - INTERVIEWS - REVIEWS
- Country of origin:Italy
- Location:Belluno, Veneto
- Status:Active
- Formed in:2010
- Genre:Atmospheric Black Metal
- Lyrical themes:Nature, Alchemy, Esotericism, Solitude, Winter
- Current label:Unsigned/independent
| Name | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Ethere | Demo | 2010 |
| Inni alla morte | Demo | 2010 |
| Ethere II | Demo | 2010 |
| Permixtio / Ethere | Split | 2011 |
| Dolomia | EP | 2015 |
| Ars moriendi | EP | 2017 |
| Adversa vulnera | Compilation | 2018 |
Slow and despairing EP is very off-putting - 60%
Ethere is a one-man nature-themed ambient BM act based in northeast Italy and this EP is a celebration of the Dolomite mountains which dominate the landscape in his part of the country. These mountains have long been the subject of legends, myths and folk stories passed down the generations by word of mouth among the communities there.
For such a celebration, the EP starts off very dolefully and repetitively with the rhythm ebbing and flowing like slow heavy waves rolling up and down a beach. Ethere's sound is intriguing though: it sounds like a synth version of a fluttery accordion wallowing in deep misery, while a plucked harp goes on its own dejected way through the title track's dark vales and forests. The piece is bookended by cheery birdsong that doesn't quite gel well with the sad looping tune. "Mandragora" is a short piece of resonant donging percussion and blowy horn drones that has a meditative New Age air, again looping over and over. Only "Belun" approaches anything much like atmospheric and melody-driven BM / post-rock, though the very slow pace drains the track of passion and energy.
There may be a mix of nostalgia, longing and sorrow that the natural landscapes of the Dolomites region are retreating and disappearing due to human activity and destruction in this EP, but there is so much sadness throughout the recording that it becomes very off-putting and unappealing. At the very least there should be some frustration, some anger, to power this EP and give the music some tension and conflict between being resigned and passive, and fighting what admittedly could be a losing battle. But isn't it worthwhile at least to try to hold back the forces of destruction and save, for a while anyway, beauty and innocence and the world of those old mountain legends and stories?
