Ethereal Landscapes

Note: I recieved the promotional copy of the demo which does not include 'Journey Through The Woodlands At Eventide', so this track is not featured in the review.

Tezarchaeon are part of the school of black metal that has largely abandoned the corpse paint, Satanism, unrelenting aggression and other such staples of traditional 'grim' black metal to embrace fully the less infamous but deeper aspects of the genre, particularly a sense of atmosphere, mysticism and romantic nationalism.

Julian Foster, the mastermind behind Tezarchaeon, evidently has a strong sense of pride in his (and my) homeland of Cornwall (or Kernow in the native tongue). Cornwall was the last part of England swallowed by medieval English expansion, long after the Norman invasion. Located on the South-western peninsula of Britain, Cornwall is considered by many as the oft forgotten fourth Celtic nation but legally it is considered an English county rather than a constituent nation. Currently Ireland is probably the only Celtic nation in the British Isle with a strong true metal scene and it is perhaps the purpose of Tezarchaeon, along with other upcoming Cornish bands such as Isle of Avalon, to change this. Cornish culture in popular English imagination consists almost solely of pasties, sun beds and a few piskies, which makes Cornish culture and pride a difficult lyrical area to tread without sounding absurd. Thankfully Tezarchaeon pull this off perfectly, with far more atmosphere and believability than most black metal bands with their imaginings based around Middle Earth and Norway.

Despite the band trying to distance themselves from the term black metal, with it's connotations of absurdity and cliché, the music is firmly based in Symphonic black metal. This is not the overblown sound of bands such as Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth but an atmospheric, medieval and majestic sound very similar to Summoning. Julian's musical forte, aside from composition, is drumming, and unlike Summoning the drums are real. They are exceptionally well played, blastbeats and double bass drumming both feature plenty on this CD, just enough to become an integral part of the music but not enough to become annoying and to drown out the atmosphere of the rest of the music

The keyboards carry the main melodies, with a cold mystical and somehow arcane sound very befitting of the ancient Moorlands of Kernow. They're not as dominating as those in many symphonic metal bands, but don't fall behind the mix (such as in early Emperor), having a somewhat subtle but integral role in the music. There are no warlike trumpets and fanfares or folky tunes, the subject of this demo is of lonely near forgotten landscapes where the sounds of warfare and feasting have long faded into an echo. The keyboards form the mainstay of the last track, playing without drums or guitars, the use of the piano sound here is fantastic.

The guitars have a typical thin buzzing black metal sound similar to Burzum's Filosofem, though not as abrasive, becoming oddly soothing at times. The riffs are slow but very strong through most of the album, speeding up to typical black metal tremolo and even a melodic solo that sounds more akin to power metal in parts of Cromlech.

The vocals are mostly an echoing, raspy whisper, very similar to the voice of Tharen of Dargaard. The vocals are there for most of the demo, and always sound fitting and atmospheric, and in no way break up the melancholy atmosphere as many harsh vocalists would. In the heavier moments of The Cold and Empty Cromlech the vocals become more masculine, low and aggressive, having a vicious inhuman 'crunch' to them, sounding very similar to Darkthrone's Soulside Journey (also of course with a song titled 'Cromlech').

Being a demo, the recording sounds slightly basic but the mix is excellent for a demo and all each instrument is audible at all times.

Few bands ever reach the level of maturity and intelligence of composition on this demo throughout their entire career. It's no surprise that Tezarchaeon have released so many demos to evolve their sound to this. The music here is more than good enough for a full release and bodes only good things for the upcoming Tezarchaeon album. Why such a high review for a demo? Because the only thing I can really fault about it is that it's too short which is not sometihng I can say about many albums I have heard.

If you are into metal solely for aggression, catchiness or musical virtuosity, stay well clear. This demo is pure atmosphere, and this it does fantastically. For casual listeners I would recommend waiting for the full, properly produced album to be released but for those heavily into atmospheric metal, ranging from true black metal to melodic symphonic metal this is something you must hear and by all likelihood will vastly enjoy. If any underground band deserves recognition and success Tezarchaeon definitely do.