In Swathes Of Brooding Light (Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions)

 “In Swathes Of Brooding Light” is the comeback album of this macabre British band, which after more than ten years of silence following the release of the acclaimed “ On the Eve Of The Grimly Inventive” under Cacophonous Records, decided to finally unleash ten new tracks of refined butchery… As the majority of you surely know already, Ebonylake plays a chaotic form of Black Metal with experimental and Gothic elements thrown in, but this time the band delivers what could be probably the most schizophrenic evolution possible of this style. “In Swathes Of Brooding Light” is an incredibly chaotic album, the Black Metal elements are present here in shape of ultra violent structures, where insane metallic riffs mixed with a devastating drumming creating a massive and asphyxiating atmosphere of pandemonium. This insane blend of Black Metal is overwhelmingly complemented by infernal experimental elements such all kind of multilayered sonic effects and bizarre tempo changes, the gothic influences of this band are still present here, we can constantly hear keyboards background atmospheres and creepy piano melodies here and there… Some more structured Gothic/Black Metal passages in the vein of the band’s previous efforts can still be found here, and that’s especially noticeable at the second half of this record (from the sixth track on) with tracks such the gloomy “Within The Deepest Red (The Opening Of…)” or the ghostly and doomy “A Voice In The Piano” (which also appeared on the band’s first album)… Anyway it’s pretty hard to dissect this album in separate elements; the 65 minutes this work lasts must be appreciated as a single whole, a chaotic, infernal and bizarre whole, but despite of scratching the surface of the absurd, “In Swathes Of Brooding Light” is an incredibly solid album, in fact this precise surrealistic, vicious and insane vision is what makes of this album the gloomy piece of art it is: a theatrical masterpiece of the morbid and the macabre that will not let anyone indifferent... By the way, this album is limited to 1200 copies, so make yourself a favour and get this excellent album before it’s too late. (AP)