E.P. Review: Falamh - Aeons Effigy
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
Yet another black metal band rise from beyond the crypt, hands clawing at the sky. This is Falamh, a trio from North Bay, Ontario, Canada, whose members have joined forces from the ashes of other bands. Having released their debut E.P. ‘The Unbound Beyond: I’ in 2020, the band have wasted little time in crafting a follow up. ‘Aeons Effigy’ is a combination of devastating black metal blasts and a more melodic Scandinavian style. The results are impressive.
With no member of the band listed as drummer, it’s vocalist and guitarist Kyle Tayler who takes responsibility for the drum patterns and programming on this release, alongside bassist Kye Bell and guitarist and backing vocalist David Strba.
The E.P. opens with the nearly seven-minute track ‘Winds of Silence’. An elegant and elaborate song that explodes with visceral passion before drifting gently into a melancholic mid-section and then ramps up the intensity towards the end. Tayler’s gruff vocals are raw and raspy, the guitars shimmer and although there are a couple of clunky time changes, it’s a solid opening.
Things take a darker turn on ‘Blackened Waves’, with a malevolent down tuned riff that broods with sinister malice. Once more the changes are a little jagged, but once the track hits its stride it blazes the sky with its black, ominous presence. As the subject matter is about being lost at sea and experiencing near death, one can forgive the slight one-dimensional style; it doesn’t detract from the aural pleasures that one can derive from it.
There’s more than a touch of early In Flames on penultimate track ‘Benighted Weald’, a track about being cursed by a forest with time running out. The dramatic feel of the song carves the story, the despair and urgency surging through the track. The acoustic interludes bring a calm to the track and encourage deeper listening. This leads to the concluding track, ‘Aethereal Forger’ which starts relatively slowly with a delicious melody before erupting into a raging fireball, changing tempo and direction several times. It’s very apt considering the song is about a world covered in fire.
‘Aeons Effigy’ is a solid second release. There are some areas where improvement can be made, but the basic skeleton is firmly in place. With some further crafting and an organic evolution, you’ll likely see and hear more of Falamh in the future.
