(EchO) - Devoid Of Illusions (CD)

Review
Pure Nothing Worship

(Echo), a young six piece doom band from Italy. Original band name was Echoes of Perdition, but was then shortened to (Echo), and Devoid of Illusions is their debut. The album was recorded in November of 2010 in the English Priory studio and partly in CMAT studio. Priory studio is known for the doom bands that record in it, and he owner is Greg Chandler from Esoteric who was a guest on the last song of this album. More than an hour of music doesn’t bring anything new. Actually, why yearn for something new, when you can play really good doom with the established sound? (Echo), as though their sound is played countless times, have their own sound. In that sound we can recognize melodic death, progressive, psychedelic, gothic and funeral doom. The complete story is followed by a bunch of keyboards, and that brought to the dreamy atmosphere. Antonio Cantarin, the vocal in this band, has a perfect voice. Growls and beautiful clean vocals are mixed and go perfectly together with the rest of the music. I can’t help but mention the sixth song on the album, Internal Morphosis which sounds as if Pink Floyd were playing doom.Very interesting approach to the sound and arrangements. A video was made for the last song, "Once Was a Man". That song somehow jumps out from the rest of the album and in it, you can recognize Italian dark rock school. Album is closed by "Sounds From Outer Space" on which Greg from Esoteric was guest with his incredible unearthly screams. The song itself sounds as a collab between (Echo) and Esoteric. A picturesque way to close this dark dreamy work. This album is for fans of all the mentioned doom sub-genres, but is not for fans of traditional doom and those that don’t like keyboards, because there is a lot of them here. All in all, an interesting debut.

Review
Metal Revolution
6.8/10
16.05.2012

(EchO) is a melodic death & doom metal band from Italy. Prior to the release of this debut album Devoid Of Illusions the band has one demo and one promo CD in their discography.

Devoid of Illusions is an album that is hard to categorize despite of me calling them a death & doom metal unit. Their music is diverse and following no genre boundaries. They are obviously influenced by post rock, atmospheric metal, gothic, doom and death metal. Apart from being varied and diverse, their material is also somehow complex, which makes it hard to comprehend.

Some of the 9 songs (including an opening “Intro”) included on this opus are with a low tuned riffs and haunting keyboard passages, while others contains a brutal metal riffing and hellish drumming. Occasionally they also include a haunting and mystique passages, in order to create this atmospheric feeling. The vocals are as diverse as the rest of the instruments; sometimes clean, sometimes harsh, grunting, screaming and raging.

The most interesting song, esp. for the funeral doom fans, is the closing song “Sounds from Out of Space” feat. Greg Chandler (Esoteric). In this track they blend the extremes; chaotic dark atmosphere and a dreamy and nostalgic atmosphere.

(EchO) doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but then again, who does within this genre, nowadays? Yet, Devoid of Illusions is a honest journey, performed extremely well, and exploring almost every corner of what a classy doom and death metal contains.

Author: bato

Review
Iye Zine
11.02.2012

“Devoid Of Illusions” è il miglior esordio discografico che mi sia capitato di ascoltare da diverso tempo a questa parte.

I bresciani (EchO) sono l’ennesima pietra preziosa che, con la consueta lungimiranza, la Solitude Productions (tramite la sub-label BadMoodman) lancia nella scena doom mondiale; anche se, in effetti, racchiuderli in maniera semplicistica all’interno del genere appare riduttivo.
Infatti i nostri, pur muovendosi chiaramente nell’ambito di competenza dell’etichetta con sede a Orel (Russia), riescono a fornire al loro sound una serie di sfumature e di influenze che spaziano dal gothic/doom più classico fino ad un progressive dalla tonalità darkeggianti.
Tale progetto riesce alla perfezione grazie alle innegabili capacità tecniche della band e a un vocalist come Antonio Cantarin in grado di passare con disinvoltura dal growl più catacombale a clean vocals evocative e prive di qualsiasi sbavatura.
In un quadro di questo genere la classica ciliegina sula torta è costituita da una produzione che valorizza al massimo le sonorità dell’album a cura di un autentico mostro sacro del doom metal , ovvero Greg Chandler, mastermind degli Esoteric (ascoltare il loro ultimo mastodontico “Paragon Of Dissonance”, please …).
In “Devoid Of Illusions” tutto funziona alla perfezione, ciascun brano possiede un’impronta che lo rende memorizzabile e distinguibile dagli altri, benché certamente non si stia parlando di musica di facile presa.
Del resto, proprio ciò che ad un primo impatto potrebbe costituire il punto debole del lavoro, ovvero l’eterogeneità stilistica che si manifesta anche all’interno delle singole tracce, in realtà finisce per rivelarsi il valore aggiunto dato che l’alternanza tra atmosfere apparentemente discordanti tra loro avviene magicamente in maniera del tutto naturale e spontanea.
Prendendo in esame alcune dei brani, “The Coldest Land” vive sull’avvicendamento tra arpeggi delicati prossimi ai Katatonia ed un’irresistibile melodia chitarristica contrassegnata da un growl impetuoso, mentre “Omnivoid” si caratterizza per un riff pesantissimo che improvvisamente si dissolve per lasciare spazio a sonorità prossime al depressive metal.
“Disclaiming My Fault” è un’altra delle tante perle dell’album, un brano che nasce con un’impronta prog alla Porcupine Tree che viene trasfigurata nel finale da un furioso death metal; “Once Was A Man” invece risalta come un’eccezione nel contesto dell’album poiché, se come la precedente traccia si muove inizialmente su territori contigui alla band di Steve Wilson, finisce per confluire in passaggi degni dei Cure di “Disintegration”; in sintesi : splendido !
“Sounds From Out Of Space” chiude alla grande il lavoro con la partecipazione dello stesso Greg Chandler che, con la sua voce e la sua chitarra, finisce inevitabilmente per “Esoterizzare” il brano, ma questo non è certo un male, anzi …
Proprio il contrasto tra il cupo funeral doom introdotto dall’illustre ospite e le caratteristiche aperture post metal che, giunti alla fine dell’album, abbiamo imparato a conoscere ed apprezzare, si erge a simbolo dell’intero lavoro e dimostra quanto il talento degli (EchO) renda naturale la convivenza tra sonorità apparentemente incompatibili.
Non c’è molto altro da aggiungere se non l’esortazione nei confronti di chi ama la buona musica (non solo il metal) affinché supporti questa magnifica realtà nostrana.
Esiste, anche se poco pubblicizzata, un’Italia diversa da quella degli schettini, dei buffoni di corte e di tutte quelle “squallide figure che attraversano il paese” ; gli (EchO) sono qui a dimostrarcelo.

Author: Stefano Cavanna

Review
Pitchline Zine
8.5/10
17.10.2012

Definitivamente le he cogido el gustillo a reseñar trabajos editados por el sello ruso BadMoonMan Rec. Ya he tenido la posibilidad de reseñar varios trabajos de este sello y la verdad sea dicha, he comprobado que en cómputo general y ateniéndome a lo actualmente reseñado, existen más aspectos reseñables que sean positivos que aspectos reseñables más negativos. Grupos interesantes, originales, y un catálogo que poco a poco están potenciando gracias a trabajos de una calidad bastante elevada. Y ya que estoy hablando y señalando a este original catálogo ruso como clara muestra de ofrecer cosas interesantes, me gustaría incluir, en este listado de interés, el disco que hoy nos ocupa, ‘Devoid of Illusions’ que viene de manos de unos italianos de original y curioso nombre, (EchO), y que posiblemente sea el álbum que más me haya atraído de cuantos he escuchado de dicho sello proveniente de frías tierras bañadas en vodka.

Indagando un poco en la banda pude comprobar que este es su único disco hasta la fecha. Un par de demos grabadas con anterioridad pero nada más. Así que, como tal, he de tratar este trabajo como su álbum debut. Un trabajo que para ser su primer trabajo en larga duración, reconozco que estos italianos lo han bordado. Magnífico, podría calificar su trabajo. Discazo en el cual se han esforzado bastante tanto a nivel compositivo como a nivel musical ya que en ambas facetas sobresalen de lo lindo, aunque si tuviese que quedarme con alguno de estos dos aspectos lo haría sin lugar a dudas con la composición de sus canciones. Una composición que engloba en él nueve temas de una calidad asombrosa. Más de una hora de melodías, lentos pasajes, mezcla de voces (aunque no muchas ya que sobresalen las voces limpias en casi la totalidad del disco) y un juego musical por parte de sus integrantes que terminan dando forma a una pieza elaborada a partir de los cimientos del mejor Doom con tintes melódicos. Si tuviese que nombrar algunas referencias a la hora de orientar su música, cosa que se hace muy a menudo a la hora de reseñar, pondría los ejemplos básicos que establecieron las principales bases para estos sonidos, Katatonia, My Dying Bride y Anathema, y así nadie irá perdido.

Me resulta difícil entender como a veces bandas de estas características pasan tan desapercibidas a un público que busca, además de cosas nuevas e interesantes, material que sea capaz de llenar el vacío que nos deja en muchas ocasiones el gran empacho musical al que a veces estamos sometidos. También repercute que nosotros mismos muchas veces nos dejamos llevar por falsos perfiles o trabajos metidos a cuchara acabando por no tener opción alguna a llegar a disfrutar de discos como este que nos ocupa y empujando con esta actitud a dejar anclado estos discos en el olvido más lejano. En fin, tenemos lo que queremos.

Como curiosidad, decir que el último corte, “Sounds From Out of Space”, cuenta con la colaboración de Greg Chandler, vocalista de los magníficos Esoteric, cosa que debería servir para que los seguidores de estos ingleses se acercasen a darle una escucha a este fenomenal disco. Posiblemente, estoy casi seguro, hasta les encaje en sus gustos.

Buen trabajo el de este sexteto italiano que me ha sorprendido bastante y que con toda seguridad hará tenerles en la retina para próximos trabajos, además de tener un lugar privilegiado en mis estanterías para cuando quiera sumergirme en las profundidades más recónditas del pensamiento del ser humano.

Author: Leviathan

Review
Pure Nothing Worship 'zine

(Echo), a young six piece doom band from Italy. Original band name was Echoes of Perdition, but was then shortened to (Echo) , and Devoid of Illusions is their debut. The album was recorded in November of 2010 in the English Priory studio and partly in CMAT studio. Priory studio is known for the doom bands that record in it, and he owner is Greg Chandler from Esoteric who was a guest on the last song of this album. More than an hour of music doesn’t bring anything new. Actually, why yearn for something new, when you can play really good doom with the established sound ? (Echo), as though their sound is played countless times, have their own sound. In that sound we can recognize melodic death, progressive, psychedelic, gothic and funeral doom. The complete story is followed by a bunch of keyboards, and that brought to the dreamy atmosphere. Antonio Cantarin, the vocal in this band, has a perfect voice. Growls and beautiful clean vocals are mixed and go perfectly together with the rest of the music. I can’t help but mention the sixth song on the album, Internal Morphosis which sounds as if Pink Floyd were playing doom. Very interesting approach to the sound and arrangements. A video was made for the last song, Once Was a Man. That song somehow jumps out from the rest of the album and in it, you can recognize Italian dark rock school. Album is closed by Sounds From Outer Space on which Greg from Esoteric was guest with his incredible unearthly screams. The song itself sounds as a collab between (Echo) and Esoteric. A picturesque way to close this dark dreamy work. This album is for fans of all the mentioned doom sub-genres, but is not for fans of traditional doom and those that don’t like keyboards, because there is a lot of them here. All in all, an interesting debut.

Author: Alex