Occasionally a record comes along that, for some reason, is extremely difficult to write about. Whether that’s because it’s terrible or there’s a lot to take in or that you just love it so damn much, it can take on a life of its own and drag you down into a pit of complete despair before you’ve figured out that it’s happening. All Hail Corrosion is a tough work to talk about, and not because it’s awful – far from it. It’s not even that there’s too much going on but it’s because it’s so simple yet so overwhelming in its emotional structure and ritualistic vibrations. Ephemeros do more than tug on the heartstrings with their debut and this three track monolith of an album is so wonderfully despondent that sitting through it all at once in order to get some thoughts locked down becomes a struggle.
All Hail Corrosion is a record that whispers its anguish in moments of stripped back minimalism and roars its horror in passages of weighty sound. Ephemeros tangle the two approaches into woven soundscapes of despair on opener “All Hail Corrosion” by letting simple notes to play off heavier, burden-laden strikes and Joshua Greene’s (Elitist – now known as Bastard Feast) cavernous bellows. Sorrowful guitar progressions that are reminiscent of masters Mournful Congregation echo into the spaces left by his woefully deep voice and the climbing wails that are issued forth in later moments claw at the mind with a desperate severity.
“Stillborn Workhorse” continues the processional pace set out by the band and winds its way towards ever increasing claustrophobic feelings and terror with a steady and corrupt stride. Pounding drum beats (Chuck Watkins – Graves At Sea) permeate the dark colours of the track and Greene’s voice shifts between deep, death metal style roars and higher registers whilst the sounds below speak of unimaginable sadness. Simple guitar inflections fill with morose sentiment and curl around the weightier crunches of bass and Ephemeros slowly battle their demons with the majesty of their music.
All Hail Corrosion closes on the intense and harrowing “Soilbringer” which takes all that you’ve heard before and moulds it into ever more despairing tones and pushes the affecting sounds further into the doomed abyss Ephemeros have created. Again the simplicity of the instrumentation works in the band’s favour by allowing the physicality of the anxiety to slip through the cracks and tumble into Greene’s commanding vocal performance. You can feel the pain that lies within his voice and the deeply hidden, almost choral harmony that rises up behind the enchanting movements of guitar. The tension is ramped up during the closing minutes when the music suddenly takes into faster territory and then washes into truly melancholic guitar developments and screams of complete and total despair.
Ephemeros have years of experience behind them as individuals so it’s hardly a surprise that their debut as a collective is so accomplished. Their death-coloured funeral doom holds so much pain and terror – more so than anyone should have to deal with – and the level of maturity and knowledge that is contained within the walls of All Hail Corrosion is a fearful enough prospect in itself. It’s music such as this that helps those who can connect with the themes that Ephemeros and other doom acts portray in their songs and enables them to progress and move forward. Long may Ephemeros continue down this pathway of nightmares.
All Hail Corrosion will be available from Seventh Rule Recordings (CD/digital) and Parasitic Records (LP) from August 20th.
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