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Empyrean > Quiet​us > Reviews
Empyrean - Quiet​us

Very nice, but next time tune your instruments! - 75%

Myrkrarfar, May 8th, 2017
Written based on this version: 2008, CD, Prime Cuts Music

"Cruelty and the Beast" and "New Obscurantis Order" with a hint of "Follow the Reaper". Review done…huh? You'll string me up by the balls and invent a new instrument – the first one meant to be played with steel-capped boots – if I don’t make it longer? Well, I’ve had a good life…OK OK, I’m kidding! Put that thing away! Sheesh.

Empyrean is a band from Australia (or the netherworlds as I like to call the Down Under…or not) formed in 2003, and “Quietus” is their debut full-length. The album is absolutely not bad, it’s actually quite enjoyable, but it’s got lots of small annoying details which make the listening experience less orgasmic. We’ll get to those in a bit – but first, let’s check out what kind of music we’re served with.

I’ll use the ancient ingredients list format, if you please: Pounding and progressive riffs? Check. Melodies and leads of the more mysterious, neo-classical kind? Check. Aggressive drumming with some fast double kicks? Check. High-pitched screeching and lower growls? Check. Medieval gothic atmosphere draped in epic keyboards all over the place? Double check. Or wait, make that a quadruple motherfucking check. Sound familiar? Yes, they’re going CoF on our asses. And lo and behold – they kick CoF’s asses at being CoF! Hilarious, yes I know. To be perfectly honest, Empyrean is not just another Cradle of Filth clone, they’re clearly doing their own (much more progressive) thing but their forefathers are easily recognized.

So there are lots and lots…and even more lots and lots of stuff in here to take in and sort out – riffs and melodies thrown in from all sides, millions of keyboards and samples amidst the tapestry of chaos woven by the proggy and sometimes hyperactive drums and guitars, plus the varied vocal delivery, ranging from Dani Filthesque chihuahua-raping to dark Dobermann growls and even some clean vox, which don’t seem out of place at all. The darker grunty vocals are unfortunately put way too high in the mix, and they don’t sound very good. Could be a matter of poor EQ’ing or miking, though. The Dani screeching gets a little tiresome in the end as well.

Now, when an album is filled to the brim with this much different stuff, the production and arranging jobs are crucial. In this case, they’ve done a pretty OK job. The four-minute intro – which is an awesome soundtrackish build-up – sounds amazing but after that, things get messier. The overall sense is one of chaos – and mostly in a good sense. The numerous layers of keyboards, guitars, bass and drums make things of course harder to fit in their right places in the mix, and sometimes there’s too much entropy and too little clarity for everything to shine through properly. I understand though that they were probably looking for a thick, chaotic atmosphere, and overall atmosphere prevails over single instruments any day of the week.

The songwriting is at a pretty high level, not much sticks in my head but I like most parts in most songs – “When the Sky Turned” probably being my favorite track. But as said before, the arranging on albums with such a dense texture as this one is very important, and small details in the soundscape can ruin the mood completely – and there are lots of those small irritating things that bug you to death, like for example the wannabe-Alexi-Laiho leads which don’t fit the music at all. A tad sloppy harmonized shredding, artificial harmonics and whammy attacks played with a horrendous lead guitar sound ruin the atmosphere like nothing else, they’re probably just something the guitarists wanted to throw in there to draw some attention to themselves. Please refrain from doing this in the future, and think of the greater good – that is, the song.

Also, what the fuck is up with the orchestra hits? I thought they had been driven to extinction by all the sane musicians in the world. Please get rid of those, as well as the atrocious fucking harpsichord sound! I can live with some of the other Nintendo samples and patches, and the occasional piano parts fit nicely into the soundscape but orchestra hits and harpsichords can go fuck themselves with chainsaws. I love the harpsichord, if it’s used in the proper way – that is in classical fucking music, like Scarlatti or Bach. Learn. Fuck.

And remember, next time you record an album – tune your fucking instruments. Some of the harmonized leads made me cringe so much I smashed my remote to pieces. I’ll send a bill your way, mates.

OK let’s sum this up. Muchos whining about small details, I must be having my period or something. So I’ll probably score this album low, right? Nope. The songwriting, execution and, front and foremost, the atmosphere are at a high level and the annoying things get more and more tolerable with every listen (not the orchestra hits though, they fucking suck! And out-of-tune guitars is something I’ll never be able to forgive.) “Quietus” turns out to be a grower, which is to be expected from an intricate, progressive and epic album which is well-written and –executed. I hope Empyrean can erase the annoyances for their sophomore, ‘cause that’d absolutely be something worth waiting for!

Sheer power and darkness flowing... - 90%

SMiM, December 8th, 2008

It’s possibly your worst nightmare, and severe psychological damage will be inflicted after listening to this hauntingly atmospheric issue of Symphonic Black Metal courtesy of Empyrean, from Brisbane, Australia. Titled ‘Quietus’, meaning release from life, this Queensland sextet have used the past year and a half since the release of their debut EP to develop and mature their sound.

To kick proceedings off on the album we are provided with a genuinely haunting and moody four minute instrumental that could easily pass for the opening credits of the latest murder/horror movie… or strangely, even Harry Potter. It has got some sort of magical quality to it which will set a scene in your mind, of tall dark pine forests, mossy ground cover, and a magician in the background holding a scythe, or something equally humorous in a “I’m going to kill you” kind of way.

With the emergence of the first proper track on Quietus, it delivers in class and impression everything I expected, multiplied exponentially. Sheer power and darkness flowing from the band member’s hearts, out their pores and direct to the recording desk like the spirit of Emperor meets Bathory meets Dimmu Borgir. Bombastic yet ghostly, contradicting words maybe, but perfectly fitting I feel to describe this huge and atmospheric sound. Symphonic would be the other main descriptive, with the keyboards continually setting this mood throughout the album.

After only using harsh black metal style vocals on their debut release, vocalist James Hill and the band have made an interesting choice to include clean vocals at varying stages throughout ‘Quietus’ and it has paid off well. At no time does Hill over extend his voice, and at all times do they fit in nicely with the moment in each song. Unfortunately at the time of this review’s publication I haven’t been able to read through the lyrics, however judging from the song titles, there is presumably a lyrical connection between all tracks – something I’m certainly keen to delve into as soon as I can.

As the album progresses, a couple of standouts appear to my ears. ‘Raped and Dying’ offers an evil cabaret style melody permeating through it, and it’s probably the catchiest hook the band has written so far. I also note that the band has re-recorded a track off their debut EP. ‘Pleasure of Another’s Pain’, one of the finest off the EP, this time appears heavier due to a much better mix and beefed up guitar tones. The song itself has not changed dramatically compared to the EP version, which is perfectly fine as the song itself is great and now much improved.

The other standout to me is the penultimate track on the album titled ‘When the Sky Turned’. With its doomy piano intro quickly making way for a simple yet very effective riff and the deep vocals. Half way through the track the song progresses from straight out Empyrean black metal to an epically triumphant conclusion. Really this song would have fitted perfectly as the closing track on the album; however that is tough justice on the outro track ‘Quietus’, as it also has finishing qualities.

Empyrean went into this record starting from an already impressive footing based on their debut EP, and it’s a pleasure to see that on ‘Quietus‘ the band has further matured. In no uncertain terms have they improved both in song writing, and the production of the album has risen tenfold in class. In all its powerful and eloquent majesty, check this record out now! 9/10

Review written by Brendan Amos and first posted on http://www.metalobsession.net.