LP Review "Aeonian" by Ethereal Riffian

"Aeonian" is the result of the collective mind trip of Ethereal Riffian; 4 vibration shamans from Kiev who take psychonautical audio expeditions to unexplored heavy realms where they craft transcendent columns of brightly colored psychedelic fuzz supported by the unshakeable foundations of lowend riff-mantra doom. Ethereal Riffian, however, do not stop at simply repetitive doom and psychedelic fuzz metal, as an eclectic smorgasbord of vibrations are intricately woven into their heavy tapestry of illuminated sound. By exploring and then blending together the myriad of vibrations they discover, ER create an album that goes far beyond just 'run 'o the mill' psychedelic stoner rock and riff worshiping doom metal. "Aeonian" serves up a spiritual lesson.

There are riffs aplenty throughout "Aeonian" and they are delivered directly to your synapses from the off on the album opener "Thugdam (Sensation)". There is no time for introspective meandering or teasing with a preparatory minimal ambiance that inevitably leads to a stoner or doom riff climax as ER instead choose to launch head first into a blazing torrent of stoner metal explosions that immediately grabs and holds your attention whilst leading the way to spirit raising chants and heavy slabs of doom granite that slowly turn to shades of blissful psychedelia. A path is then laid by Ethereal Riffian that leads from the 5 sense prison to beyond the veil of illusion and reveals the hidden realms from where comes the source of all that we experience. We are then taken on a journey where spheres of blinding white light metal explode into endless meshes of vibrating riff heavy fuzz that are evoked by a boundless chanted mantra. The invoked astralscapes that burn into your third eye through the concentrated flame of white hot stoner metal provides a full blown psychedelic meditative experience without having to spend 10 years sat cross legged on a Tibetan mountain top or without having to imbibe and then purge a foul tasting root brew in the suffocatingly humid and insect ridden jungles of Peru.

What Ethereal Riffian deliver with "Aeonian" are infinite phases in sound that unfold like the petals of an eternal flower with each revealing a new dimension of hypnotically riff heavy and psychedelic stoner doom metal that is at least as transcendent as any of Om's spiritual workings and is, at times, as acid fried as any of Pink Floyd's weird sonic experiments. "Aeonian" is more than a fuzz and riff heavy stoner doom album, it is a valuable spiritual working; and with the aid of the book penned by 2 members of the band and which comes with the stunningly packaged CD, Ethereal Riffian offer themselves as learned guides towards higher states of awareness.

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Seth's Top 11 of '11

Hell. I just spent nearly six seconds scribbling a list of 2011's top albums and it somehow caught fire. I managed to salvage the wreckage and now struggle to read my own handwriting, but here's the juice: 2011 was one fuckin' fat year. My world of metal expanded far beyond the reaches of my most reliable belt. From thick, murky, crust-vomit sludge to soaring atmospheric soundscapes, this year stretched boundaries and broadened the spectrum. When I wasn't pretending to love my day job, I was casually admiring dozens of the finest heavy albums the year offered. I'll do my best to scale back the dick-suckin' diatribes, but these albums had me at "dude... you gotta hit this shit."

1. Rwake - "Rest"

"This sludge/doom opus is so broad in vision and scope, I can make no promise this discourse will suffice in validating the exhaustive (and exhausting) beauty of these six tracks. I almost feel like a violator of someone's very personal, metaphysical glaze; this haunting roll through layers of pensive fog is gonna leave a mark."




2. Ironweed - "Your World of Tomorrow"

"Ironweed have struck an incredible balance between their instruments, creating a sound that is confident, honest, and ultimately indisputable. The production of the album is slick, the track selection is dead-on. Ironweed have put together an album that's meaningful without being pretentious, heavy without being over-stuffed, and precise without being clean. What a cool vibe."




3. Vultures At Arms Reach - "+)))((()))((()))((()))-"

"+)))((()))((()))((()))- is 25 haunting and atmospheric minutes that soar, drift, and march to the beat of an otherworldly ocean of sound. Spend some time with this one and see where you're taken. You may find yourself losing track of time, needing less sleep, and fantasizing about a life that doesn't so closely resemble hell. The mood grows ominous and you begin to wonder just what impact this solid three-track EP is gonna have on your frame."



4. Black Cobra - "Invernal"

"This riff-oriented collection is far too immense and far too fast to serve as background music while you wash dishes. Give it your full attention. Let it wear you out like the drunk whore at your block party, and make sure you ask for seconds. Invernal will burn and blister, but it's gonna heal a lot better than the stupid tribal tattoo you just sat through."




5. The Dive - Self-titled

"From the album's ashy lead-off stroke to the final breath of the hidden track's primal, organic, and effortless amalgam, The Dive roll through smoky psychedelic jams that no debut album should rightly boast. Soaring, moon-shot riffs, grooving tempos, and a brilliant vocal high-five make this self-titled the perfect soundtrack to a snakebite hospital rush. Enjoy this; it may not happen again."


6. Wizard Smoke - "The Speed of Smoke"

"From beginning to end, The Speed of Smoke oozes otherworldly psychedelia, doom/stoner grooves, and prog-rock leanings. This is one of the better albums you’ll hear this year. The track placement is perfect, the sounds are jaw-dropping, and the heavy is incessant. Put The Speed of Smoke on your “must-hear” list of 2011 and sit back as you’re guided through a black cosmos."




7. Swamp Witch - "Gnosis"

"Ridiculously slow, heathenistic sludge from the bowels of some clandestine swamp located in Oakland, CA., Swamp Witch decimate your ears with eerie bellowing howls, slipshod grooves, mind-numbing feedback, and a daunting unholiness." - Reg






8. Ethereal Riffian - "Shaman's Visions"

"These thirty minutes have plenty to offer, and you won't be disappointed. Whether it's sludge, doom, stoner, et cetera, you'll find it here. What you'll also find is a trip to a dense, sweltering, untouched world of groove and mist. Bring a backpack, a canteen, and a useless map. Ethereal Riffian is taking you deep into some pretty cool places."



9. City of Ships - "Minor World"

"This album is evanescent. You'll think this is a two-way street, you'll buzz from the stomach-pit butterflies, and then you'll have the rug pulled out from under you. But, of course... you'll go back for more. On Minor World, this trio manages to deliver an effort of staggering thickness, congenial sadness, and wandering cosmic acceptance."




10. Shroud Eater - "ThunderNoise"

Shroud Eater is the reason I write for Heavy Planet. Reg featured them, Toby interviewed them, I bought their cd and t-shirt. ThunderNoise sounds like a spring morning, if spring mornings are cloudy, wet, and fraught with brilliant sludge/doom descent. Few bands play this hard.




11. Belzebong - "Sonic Scapes and Weedy Grooves"

"This twice-baked sack o' ditch is packed with serious sludge and gorgeously fuzzy feedback. Don't bogart it; Belzebong brought plenty of supplies on Sonic Scapes & Weedy Grooves. Your parole agent is gonna be pissed, but Belzebong can take you somewhere he'll never follow. Their Kansas Grass ain't no schwag, son. This swirling, thumping kush frolic is the perfect, uh... score to an after-school session with your pals. Clear your calendar.



I won't call this honorable mention, that sounds terrible. Let's call it "Ten More Albums That Blistered Your Ass":

Weedeater - "Jason The Dragon"
Carcinogenic Corpse - "Noise Farm"
Borracho - "Splitting Sky"
Ponamero Sundown - "Rodeo Electrica"
Giantrider - Self-Titled
Elvis Deluxe - "Favourite State of Mind"
Using Bridge - "And I Will Be Heard"
Archon - "The Ruins At Dusk"
BOAR - Self-titled
Mastodon - "The Hunter"

Album Review - Ethereal Riffian: "Shaman's Visions"

Before gushing on how much I loved this trippy, atmospheric half-hour of fog, I'll break down why the name "Ethereal Riffian" so well suits these three Ukranians. I'd cracked this plastic thinking "Riffian" simply meant Stonezilla (guitars, vocals) could shred. While shredding IS one arrow in the band's quiver, a Riffian is actually an inhabitant of the mountainous Rif region of Morocco. It's noteworthy that cannabis plantations blanket the land there, which I'll pretend is coincidental to the band's name. So apparently an Ethereal Riffian is a celestial, spiritual, pot-growin' mountain man? Sure, but how does it SOUND?

It wouldn't matter if this album was divided into forty-seven tracks or just presented as one, you won't be skipping ahead. The five tracks they did manage to separate transition smoothly enough to leave the listener not giving a shit about song names or liner notes. What you will notice is that you've never heard anything like this. "Whispering of the Ancients (The Awakening)" puts you in a trance with chirping insects and gentle bongos, though you'd better keep your eyes peeled; it also sounds like something evil hovers above a canopy of trees. I wondered if I might be treated to Max Cavalera barking and growling, but Ethereal Riffian are able to stand on their own and carve a unique identity.

"Beyond (The Search)" continues slapping the sheepskin, but you're also finally hearing something human. It's as if an Azande tribesman is winded from a witchcraft extrication ritual, only he's also a sludge-lord stomping on an effects pedal. This song sounds like someone's being led to a sacrifice, perhaps where Venom's Cronos is overseeing the rites. Then the *ahem* riffage picks up and soars while building to an awesome, progressive groove. "Yax Imix Che (The Path)" picks up the coconut bongos and marches fifty yards to give way to buffalo horns and bouncing guitar. The listener's being firmly led by hand through the thick of a rainforest, cautiously. Saf (Bass) keeps the rhythm set to simmer just long enough for Olga's howl to tangle with Southman's frayed licks. Sounds shift into some killer skin-pounding drone, humming from what could only be another tribe's camp.

Loving the desert sound as much as I do, I couldn't have been thrown from my seat any faster than when "The Voice of Reason (The Enlightenment)" kicked on. There's enough fuzz here to keep pace with Palm Desert's best. The guitars and drums march in sync just until a brief, crunchy solo braces you for having your hair catch fire. This is the album's standout track, and in the morning you'll have a hard time crawling from your bed.

The nine-minute "Light of Self (The Truth)" closes the album, seamlessly moving between genres and influences. You'll almost hear a talkbox, though it never reaches full-Frampton. And you know that point in every great film where the protagonist falls on hard times, using opiates, losing his job and family, generally going belly up? This song should play during those sequences! Going from blues to sludge in the span of under a second doesn't sound like it'd work. It does. So do all the guitars and transitions on this hazy end cap. The song's fadeout sounds like Monster Magnet, but without the fire and tits. Ethereal Riffian aren't afraid to take their time, and they know you'll understand.

The guitars hit light, heavy, high, low. The drums go from a whisper to falling boulders. The vocals take a backseat, though their gravity isn't wasted. These guys are honoring the heavens, believing less is more, lyrically. These thirty minutes have plenty to offer, and you won't be disappointed. Whether it's sludge, doom, stoner, et cetera, you'll find it here. What you'll also find is a trip to a dense, sweltering, untouched world of groove and mist. Bring a backpack, a canteen, and a useless map. Ethereal Riffian is taking you deep into some pretty cool places.

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