Band:	Ephel Duath
Album:	The Painter's Palette
Style:	Avantgarde metal
Release date:	2003

01. The Passage (Pearl Grey)
02. The Unpoetic Circle (Bottle Green)
03. Labyrinthine (Crimson)
04. Praha (Ancient Gold)
05. The Picture (Bordeaux)
06. Ruins (Deep Blue And Violet)
07. Ironical Communion (Amber)
08. My Glassy Shelter (Dirty White)
09. The Other's Touch (Amaranth)

This is what I call bizarre music, Ephel Duath (yes, taken from "The Lord Of The Rings") is one of those bands with tons of genres affecting their music, but this hybrid is not a common one at all, Ephel Duath combines Black Metal with some Progressive elements and of course astonishing Jazz bits.

The album opener couldn't get any better, the music starts smoothly with some Progressive riffs, then the explosion comes, there's a trumpet screaming (or is it a Sax?) in the background, the bass-lines going crazy as hell, the drummer playing some irregular beats using nothing but the ride and some toms, etc. damn this intro is marvelous. This album is really intense in every way possible, every tune is wrapped with an insane amount of progressions and breakdowns, the wind/brass instruments sound really beautiful, we can hear a Trumpet, a Sax, some Clarinet, and I think there's a Trombone somewhere.

The production is clean as a new toilet, and every instrument sounds loud and clear. The songwriting is spectacular as well. The concept of "The Painter's Palette" is really original and shocking, of course it goes perfectly well with the music; everything within this album breaks the usual monochromatic instances of hybrids and common music, and then every piece sounds multicolored and insanely technical (please just check the bass-line in the third track, 3:09), the melodies are delightfully executed (check the intro in the 7th track), and the atmosphere created becomes actually chilling, intense and even cold sometimes (check the instrumental track "Praha (Ancient Gold)" )

I shall warn you though; this album is only for the open minded ones. If you want your metal to be straight, unadorned, and just stable in most ways, you'll hate Ephel Duath for sure, but if you are into the Avant-garde, if you worship experimental specks, if you are seeking for bizarre progressions, and mostly, if you love really complex music, you'll find a "fresh" jewel right here; I guarantee this band won't bore you at all.

Best Tracks: "My Glassy Shelter (Dirty White)", "Labyrinthine (Crimson)"