Metal Reviews

On The Eve Of The Grimly Inventive
EBONYLAKE



The Tracks are :
1. The Author Of The Burning Hock
2. The Wonderings Of Ophelia Through The Untamed Countryside
3. On The Eve Of The Grimly Inventive
4. Within Deepest Red ( The Opeing Of...)
5. An Autumn To Gripple Children
6. A Voice On The Piano
7. The Music And Woe Between Horse Thieves

"Wait quietly for your time to speak, for when you do my friend, it will be like the Blast of an amethyst storm" said the voice as he walked the Burning amber, the tide caressing his feet, easing his suffering.
"But why is it they wrongly throw the lumin seeds before my step" snapped the boy
"Wrongly?" replied the voice, "thay are not fools but Prophets"
Then silence ruled for a while.

This short extract from a story penned by the band themselves is a perfect way to introduce you to the 'On The Eve Of The Grimly Inventive', an album greatly influenced by various band members experiences of living in a haunted house for a decade or so.

Violent poltergiest activity coupled with visitations from the spirit world has left it's mark on various band members both physically and emotionally and this becomes very clear in the extremities of the music on 'On The Eve Of The Grimly Inventive'.

Ebonylake's music is extreme , in some cases very extreme even by black/dark metal standards, yes, they are influenced by writers such as Byron and Stocker, but unlike a lot of bands today they haven't just gone out and read a few books or watched a few movies, Ebonylake have experienced it firsthand and this is very important when listening to this album.

Now if for whatever reason you find the above difficult to handle, try this image for a moment or two. What would it be like if you where in a haunted house for a length of time. Imagine how you would react to every unsuspecting noise or movement, the floor boards creaking, the lights flickering, the wind howling through the old broken window. Imagine how you would feel inside, your stomach would be tight, tighter than a snake, waiting to unleash it's deadly venom from it's fangs, you would sweat profusely without warning, beads of liquid running from every conceivable orifice, your nervous system would be shot to pieces, you would be so scared, you couldn't even close your eyes to go to sleep, you would indeed by living your worst nightmare.

Now, do you get my point?

Because if you can begin to except the unexplained, you will understand the concept behind 'On The Eve Of The Grimly Inventive'. and undoubtedly understand waht a truly excellent piece of music this is.

Now I mentioned earlier that the music at times is on the extreme side, How extreme?

Well, the best way I can describe is to say that 'On The Eve Of The Grimly Inventive' is possibly Back/Darks metals equivalent to Meshuggah's Chaosphere with so much going on it's impossible to pick up everything the first time round, you really have to give yourself an hour or two to really appreciate what a high quality album this is.

Now sometimes extreme music can go to far, and you land up with just a wall of noise, but this is not the case 'On The Eve Of The Grimly Inventive' showcases Ebonylake as fine musicians and songwriters with some quite exceptional guitar and keyboard work, the vocals are truly inspiring and some of the effects are out of this world.

In my view there are no really stand out tracks as an album of this nature has to be listened to as a whole to fully appreciate what the band are tring to portray, but as I've said already if you can except the unexplained, you will find 'On The Eve Of The Grimly Inventive' a very dark, very atmospheric, disturbing, but ultimately a very rewarding experience.

Released by Cacophonous, 231 Portebello Road, London, W11 1LT
Fax : 0171 792 9871

Buy The CD