Ephel Duath

So, it all starts with a blues haze compressed into a minuscule volume. Within 10 seconds later, the mix floodgate opens and herein begins this quirky and manic avant-garde experience. “Through My Dog’s Eyes” is the fourth studio album from avant-garders, Ephel Duath. Don’t be fooled, though the title may suggest otherwise, this is as deep and complex an experience as their previous black metal instalments. It’s also quite a departure from their documented style.

The music itself is fragmented, hectic and by way of jazz, drunken. You might catch the odd straight progression amongst the numbers, but the majority of the music feels stuttered. This is due to the improv drum style associated with the performance. Not only does this keep things unpredictable, it often makes their riffing incredibly fresh. Part of the meat on the record, is the clever production present. You’ll be hearing ‘dirty’ guitars instead of the usual ‘crunch’ often used within the genre. One can assume that this has been a choice from the song writing perspective on the album. The guitar riffing is mostly made from Jazz chordal structures and with the usual metallic ‘crunch’, these chords would be lost. There’s everything here to suggest an extreme and challenging record (which it is) but the fusion of so many jazz themes (not to mention the concept itself!) help give “Through My Dog’s Eyes” an aura of eccentricity. Vocalist, “Luciano George Lorusso”, is also worth a mention as the performance present, is richly dynamic and spontaneous. At times you’ll hear an extreme pattern of shouts, to raspy chanting and humorous yelps.

Anything else worth a note? Other than “Through My Dog’s Eyes” being the Dog's bollocks, not really.