REPHORMULA

"Rephormula" is a reissue of Ephel Duath's debut album, "Phormula". It consists of thirteen songs, eight of which are from the debut album and the rest are bonus tracks and remixes. From the opening track to "Insomnia's Desert", it's like listening to phormula with the only difference being the name of the last track that was titled as "Embossed" on the "Phormula" album. Up to this point, the ingredients are well known. Black metal mixed with electronics, classical music, use of synthesizers, screams and heavy guitar riffs. The tempos are fast, the song structures are strange and the changes (from one part to another) are sudden. Pretty original work, one of the best things black metal has to offer and probably one of the few black metal albums that can be scary at times. The programmed drums can be pretty annoying but the rest is pretty good and carefully done.

The two remixes are pretty much full of electronics and fail to capture my attention. The last three tracks are the first three tracks from Ephel Duath's demo tape, "Opera" released in 1998. The songs are in the vein of "Phormula" but a bit less prog and a bit more classical influenced I could say. Again, like I said for "Phormula" this is a good challenge for a prog metal fan. It's really hard to say who would really be attracted this (as well as "Opera" and "Phormula") since most black metal fans say it loses the point and sounds pretentious while prog metal fans think it's too black metal. While it's not my cup of tea, I can see the brilliance of the music and the compositions and ignore the programmed drums and the heaviness of the vocals and guitar riffs. I really think those three are good cds. However, I believe that Ephel Duath's later releases are much better but pretty different. Try it!