Hailing from the U.K. Ethereal Shroud have just released the awesome 'They Became the Falling Ash' (The previous release is treated as a demo by Joe, this being his true first full length.) Blackened doom metal dripping with atmosphere and some beautiful keyboard work, this is a release you can get lost in and would definitely appeal to those of you that love the likes of Darkspace, PDH, Earth and Pillars etc. It has that same reverb heavy sound, creating that trance like atmosphere that these bands create so well. It takes a few spins to fully digest, but when it does it is well worth the wait. Equally impressive is that it was all composed by one man, written over an 8 year period. Lets hope it does not take this long for future releases. A very solid release.

https://etherealshroud.bandcamp.com/



Enjoy.

Two thirds in; this is quite a cool release so far. Doesn't remind me of Darkspace/PdH very much at all but it's nice stuff nonetheless. Thanks STORMM!

The comment related to the keys makes me feel curious, so I will listen to it as soon as I can. Thanks for the recommendation!

No problem guys. The Darkspace / PDH similarities are probably more atmosphere based if you get me so apologies if my op was misleading. But I think if you enjoy these bands this release should fit nicely.

The keys are used nicely Paganbasque and are not overpowering. I hope you like. Have to say track 2 is fantastic, especially the later half of the song, epic and beautiful.

This is a fantastic album. I liked the first album/demo a lot when I heard it but this is certainly a far more concentrated and developed record. I'll be getting myself a tape when they're released!

I came across this album a few days ago. First play gave me a good first impression, but I do need more spins to fully appreciate it. I quite enjoyed it.

The short version: This is good shit. But still...

The long(er) version: This is good shit. But still is has some more than apparent issues that aren't helping me to fully appreciate it. I think the most important of those is the vocal effect being used, which is something like the one found on PTP's U.M.A. but with a ton of reverb that makes it sound like it's a bit "too much". The fact that the vocals aren't predominant does help, but when they're more present I still find myself on a 50/50 stance. I'm also not entirely sure if the guitar tone is exactly as it should be. I'd like it to be a bit less clean, as well as fuzzier, since as it is it tends to remind me a bit of Alrakis in its almost shoegazy melodies here and there. And then there's the fact that this isn't available on CD, which is a deal breaker for me.

But like I said, this is good shit! Can't argue with that. The melodies are nice, the atmosphere is very well conceived, the keys are spot on most of the time and the general feel of the music is pretty good. "Desperation Hymn" is a really killer song, but the problem lies in the fact that both tracks that bookend the album tend to wane off into "where am I going with this?" territory. Mainly "Look Upon The Light" which definitely seems like the worst song out of the three. It has some great moments though, but I feel like it's maybe a bit too inconsistent perhaps?! Those two upbeat moments also don't help its case.

It's a good album, whereas it could be great if some aspects were trimmed and perfected. But then again I'm probably being too picky with a one-man album debut.

PS: My day was actually decent STORMM. Guess my bones were wrong.

Hi guys, thanks for your comments about my album! It means a hell of a lot to see people enjoying it.

Just thought I'd respond to the vocal effects comment, though. I'm aware the sound isn't exactly brilliant, sadly. I didn't really use any effects on the vocals other than the reverb, the rest of the sound coming down to "having such a bad mic that it sucks all the subtlety out of the recording".

I had to use a microphone built into a webcam simply because I couldn't afford a proper microphone and the reverb is to hide the artifacts in the recording of using such an awful mic for anything other than talking to your mother over Skype, haha! I did buy a new one last year but I wasn't pleased with the quality and had to ditch it, so the webcam mic remains for now... I'm happy to report, however, that people have been generous enough to be able to afford a new mic for the next record so we'll see where that goes! Hoping that I'll be able to upgrade a large portion of my setup.

Thanks for your comments about the structuring too. I'm hoping my next record will be a bit more focussed and condensed.

As for a CD release, that might be happening soon, hopefully. Must admit I'm not a huge fan of the format but there's been a pretty huge demand for it so I'll see what I can do.

Hi Joe, and welcome to the MA boards.

I know you don't know me but I can tell you I'm really really picky, so please take my words with a pinch of salt, as well as being constructive criticism. Like I said, I can respect the fact that this is a debut record and that it took a lot of blood sweat and tears to be made. The fact that it was written over such a long course of time can also be a factor in its cohesiveness, because over the past 8 years you've surely had different ideas about it and all, dealt with different stuff in life, had different gear, etc. It's understandable that not everything is as you'd want it to be, but hey, even 20 year old bands are currently unhappy with how they started (take Exhumed who just re-recorded their debut album). And you know, you have to break the waters somehow, and the point is to keep working and perfecting the flaws to be able to evolve and make something even better.

As for making it available on CD, yeah, it's something you'll find that has a reasonable demand. You can always cut the costs by doing the packaging as a pro-printed digifile (see Aurvandil's Thrones EP for reference). I can tell you it's a very interesting format, even more if you're considering on cutting the costs on shipping worldwide. There's lots you can do without a proper budget, but I think I won't be alone when I say that it's best to avoid CD-R presses and instead go for silver discs.

I hope you can enjoy my advices. Keep it strong!

Anything can be taken constructively and that's what I plan to do, so your words are invaluable!

Where I used material from an 8 year backlog of ideas for this album I plan to completely wipe the slate clean for the next one. I have no idea how long it'll take, nor do I have any ideas or plans right now, but it should be interesting to see what happens.

As for the choice of CD pressing, I did have a label possibly interested so if that happens all the better!

Sure thing Joe, keep the fire lit! And do keep us posted if that CD pressing does materialize.

I just bought this. Normally, I'm for more pristine material, but there is so much potential here that I could not pass it up. Phenomenal musicianship--the moment I saw the "Black/Funeral Doom Metal" label here on MA, I expected a crawling black dirge á la Nortt, but I was pleasantly surprised by Joe's willingness to let it build to something more lively (not that I don't love Nortt's format).

With that said, I don't mean to derail the thread and turn it into a genre debate or anything by asking this, but, musically speaking, would this also fall into the post-black metal spectrum, considering the soaring atmospherics? I ask only for my edification, since I am tempted to conclude as such, but I realise that I only have experience with early Altar of Plagues to go off of.

I have yet to finnish the album but it sounds great, some interesting melodies and a truly hypnotic atmosphere.

And yes, release it as a cd would be a great idea.

I would also be up for a cd if released. Nice to see you guys digging this album and by the way welcome to the forum's Joe.

Ps I must add the Desperation Hymn is my favourite track, I cant get enough of this one.

I'll just add my two cents in saying that I think making CDs of the album would be a superb idea. It's my favourite format since it's the one I grew up with and I'd love to add this to my collection!

I'll definitely see what I can do! I don't want to settle for just a jewel case release though, it will hopefully be more special than that.

(apologies for the bump)

Hi everyone, just thought I'd let you know that the CD version is confirmed and is hopefully coming in June! Will let you know when more has been confirmed and the label give me the OK to announce it properly.

EDIT: https://www.facebook.com/etherealshroud ... 5761299818 Official announcement.

Congratulations!! its an important step in your career.

Glad I saw this thread, one of your best ever recs STORMM.

Just gorgeous music, reminds me a lot of my countrymen Elysian Blaze and some Midnight Odyssey. Brilliant.

Maybe Northern Silence can scrub up a vinyl release sometime too. Keen.

^ Thanks and your welcome

Thanks for dropping by with this update Joe. Fantastic news, Northern Silence are a perfect home for Etheral Shroud and I hope all works out. Interesting to see this new sub-division they have created to promote bands. An excellent start. Will you have any copies to sell direct? (save me waiting on a cd coming from Germany ).

I'll be getting 75 copies so I can definitely spare you one! I'll post here the moment I get my copies and we'll discuss price etc.

Let Northern Silence know you're interested in an LP! The more desire there is for it, the higher the chance it'll happen!

Excellent, keep one for me for sure Joe, will def pick one up from you!

Hey everyone! Just thought I'd let you know you can pre-order straight from the label now:

http://shop.northern-silence.de/sites/g ... 0#det16918

If you're in the UK and would rather buy straight from me, shoot me a PM!

Im all over this

The vocalist sounds like he's trapped in a tin can, but other than that it's pretty sweet

For those interested this is available now to buy from Northern Silence or direct from Joe. Certainly well worth a purchase.

Just got the Northern Silence re-release of the Absolution|Emptiness 'demo' and if you enjoyed falling ash you will most certainly enjoy this too. Not quite as long but just as atmospheric. Price on the bands bandcamp page is more than reasonable for the disc but only limited qtys available!

http://etherealshroud.bandcamp.com/albu ... -emptiness

Thanks, Stormm!

Absolution was actually written and recorded in 4 days. The entirety of Falling Ash was already written by this point (actually, years prior), but I didn't want to waste my best material before I knew I could pull it off, so Absolution is basically a test run.

Writing for album 3 is nearly finished. It's going to be a very different beast, very much looking forward to finishing it by next year.

Test run or not Joe it is still a quality release and goes well with Falling Ash. Really excited to hear album number three is finished and more intereting to hear it to be somewhat different. I hope you dont leave the atmopshere behind! Have you any idea of a release date yet. Oh by the way you should check out The Wanderer... compilation cd reminds me alot of your work and Burzum.

Will definitely check out The Wanderer!

No release date, still pondering the feasibility. Let's just say I've ramped the ambition up tenfold for the next album. If I can pull this off it'll be incredible.

Shit man, you now have me extremely excited to hear this. Keep us updsted the minute you have release details!!

Damn, would rather not hear about this. Drop it when it's ready to save us the agonising wait! I trust you wont turn into Mutatis, please no...