Ephemerald - Between In The Glimpses Of Hope

In the land of the 1000 lakes, metal is king! This crown, although set with multiple jewels, includes a newcomer: Ephemerald. It is certainly a new gem to be added to the Finnish national crown. They are a Finnish melodic symphonic death metal band formed in 2016. "Between In The Glimpses Of Hope" is their first release. The combined forces of current and former members of Frosttide, Voidfallen, Vorna, Apocryfal, Prayed and Betrayed, Mechanik Project meet together in order to create an epic band for an epic music project!

How to apprehend this album, from which way? There is not a single minute wasted through and through! Yes it is great, it is exciting, clean with a formidable efficiency, there are no weak points or very few on which I will develop my remarks later.

When the first listening ends, all we want is to listen the whole album again! I mean, as old headbanger, that is what I did. At the first listening and from the first song, the musical efficiency seizes you relentlessly, you find yourself literally crushed and submerged by an irresistible wave! No one can resist to the riffs, that distinctive voice, the blast beats, the orchestration, the arrangement and that keyboard presence so dear to the Finnish metal school. The very fast tempo goes crescendo on the first three tracks, like a racing car which shows you, if such was the intention, the power of its motorization. Subsequently, rhythms and more accomplished melodies follow one another, clear voices appear, with great clarity, the compositions call for a very different listening, to a different journey.

Nevertheless, it is not to an old monkey that one learns the grimace, my enthusiasm has risen so high that I have to be very critical (if this is possible) about this excellent revelation. The sound is very clinical on some tracks, almost sanitized (it reminds me Mors Principium Est tone, a band that I love), in my opinion the track 'Servant' is the archetype, it spoils the pleasure. Some orchestrations can sometimes seem pompous or too sophisticated. And yet, what efficiency, what a talented demonstration, these musicians really breathe metal music!

So, as perfection does not belong to this world, I cannot give the maximum mark, it would be a sin of communicative enthusiasm. Nevertheless, i really loved this album which begins as a show of strength and then reveals the potential that lies dormant in this band too. I only expect one thing: to see them "live" on stages.
Attention, Ephemerald has set the bar very high, either they have burnt all their ideas, or this is only the beginning of a great adventure! With these last words, I apply for Finnish nationality and listen the album once again.

For fans of Mors Principium Est, Shade Empire, but also Ensiferum and Wintersun, do not miss it, you have no excuse!

4.9 / 5 STARS


1. Grand Creation
2. I Bear Fire
3. Servant
4. Lost
5. All There Is
6. Reborn
7. No Fall Is Too Deep
8. Till The Sea Swallows Us Whole
9. Into The Endless