MAL - Eonian Quiescence - review
MAL - Eonian Quiescence - review
Tracklist
01. Misconceptions (Synodic Period)02. Unsinkable (Super Sargasso) Sea
03. Vomiting Fire (Coronal Mass Ejection)
04. Intra Terrestrial Enterobacter (Yersinia Pestis)
05. Antikythera Mechanism (OOPart)
06. Radioactivate (Interstellar Carrier)
A review by
X-Ray Rod February 08, 2012
With the end of a year, one of the most annoying moments is bound to happen to every music lover: The Forget-me-not Series. Those albums you wish you discovered earlier. Released in the beginning of December and me being busy with the constant flow of releases, it's not like I had any choices. This is a shame because the debut by the French MAL shows that this duo is really onto something.
There's quite a lot going on here. While the core is doom, many influences make their way through the hellish music. Black, death and a good chunk of psychedelic tunes can be found here, making this 36-minute debut one of the most promising of the past year.
Going back to the hellish comment, I really enjoyed the production of this little beast. A fuzzy and fire-like sound that is clear enough for you to know what's going on but with just the right amount of rawness to not lose bite. With their massive riffs, the guitars create a warm wall of sound but they also make sure to unleash noisy and twisted landscapes ("Unsinkable Sea") along with cleaner melodies not that different from the work of the mighty Unholy. The drums do their usual slow work but just when you least expect it, chaos reigns in the shape of unsettling blastbeats and tribal patterns ("Intra Terrestrial Enterobacter"). This performance turns impressive once you see the band's line-up and realize that the drums are actually programmed.
Ironically, the most important aspect in the album is the one that is well hidden under the production, namely the keyboards. This instrument was put to great use. While many bands keep failing because of their keyboards being on the front, ruining pretty much everything... MAL is smart enough to put them in the background where they can fill all the empty spaces with hypnotic melodies and also lift the riffs to majestic levels ("Misconceptions").
As it turns out, Eonian Quiescence is one of the better debuts both in doom metal and metal in general from the past year. With its mesmerizing and almost ceremonial atmosphere, this short yet intense album will put you in a trance and its replay value will force you to repeat that state of mind again and again. A wonderful start for this young band and I'm definitely looking forward to more releases.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
Comments
Comments:
20
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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Posts: 40071
Nice review for a nice release
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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Posts: 18615 Written by [user id=4365] on 08.02.2012 at 21:53 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 08.02.2012 at 22:21 Thank you both, if there is one thing I wanted from this album is that it could have been *a bit* longer... But I decided to not comment about it because in the end... I think the album is pretty tight with no filler and that is good too. Better a short album with all the fat cut out than an album that has brilliant moments but with filler here and there.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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Posts: 40071 Written by X-Ray Rod on 08.02.2012 at 22:25 Absolutely agreed.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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Posts: 18615 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 08.02.2012 at 22:32 It's not everyday I say that an album could be longer... let alone a doom metal one! But yeah, the dudes had enough potential to give it at least 10 minutes.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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Posts: 3554
Nice review, good album, just purchased it for free (that sounds strange) but i plan on purchasing a hard copy. For some reason i prefer having physical copies of CD's to add to my collection.
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Posts: 18615 Written by Alex F on 08.02.2012 at 23:28 I thought they only had digital stuff. If you know where to get a physical copy, pm me please. I might buy it if given the chance.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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Posts: 3554 Written by X-Ray Rod on 08.02.2012 at 23:34 I think you may be right, I'm rather upset now.... I'll have to re-purchase the album for money now.
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Posts: 2797
Great review, sounds exactly like the stuff that I enjoy.
---- He who is not bold enough to be stared at from across the abyss is not bold enough to stare into it himself.
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Posts: 18615 Written by Alex F on 08.02.2012 at 23:45 Hhahahahahah, the guilt haunts you right? xD Well... I wrote the review, I feel like I did my part ^__^
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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Posts: 9575
I don't have any wa of buying stuff online so I guess it'll be a free download for me, seems interesting, nice review.
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Posts: 18615 Written by InnerSelf on 08.02.2012 at 23:47 Tell me what you think about it oce you check it out.  ___ The band just contacted me to thank me for the review and also told me they are already working on a new album! Nice news! 
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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Posts: 18615 Written by Merchant of Doom on 09.02.2012 at 12:03 My review just wasn't complete without your comment, thanks man.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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Posts: 2466
Sounds interesting. Just hope this isn't one of those bands whose debut will be their strongest release.
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Posts: 18615 Written by Slayer666 on 09.02.2012 at 18:47 Let's see about that, it's good to see they are already working on a second one but hopefully they will take their time to make it stronger. But yeah, I think they are promising.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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Posts: 702 Written by X-Ray Rod on 09.02.2012 at 18:44 Happy to help...  Jokes apart, I listened to it a few times and every time I can't tell the songs apart... they just create a single flow of urgh, urgh, bang bang, urgh, urgh, bang bang, with some ambient bits... not a lot of imagination, there. Good background music when you are working, though, cause it's so monotonous I forget it's there...
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| Enoch
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Posts: 113  |
Posts: 113
This album and esoteric make me want to get into funeral doom...enjoying it!
---- 
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