Review of Ephel Duath - Pain Necessary To Know

Pain Necessary To Know is the second full-length offering – I don’t count the stripped-down, symphonic black metal effort Rephormula since it’s entirely unrecognizable compared to the current output – from Italy’s Ephel Duath. Previously very difficult to classify, it’s now all but impossible to stick a label on them. Writer/composer Davide Tiso has chosen to take the group in a direction that very literally crosses the barrier from music to something else entirely.

The result is, unfortunately, very disappointing, especially given that The Painter’s Palette was right near the peak of my top ten for 2003. Gone is vocalist Davide Tolomei, and the depth and mood that was created through his emotive style of singing has subsequently disappeared as well. The occasional flourishes of improvised trumpet have also been dispensed with. What’s left is a jarringly anomalous collection of songs that blend together to create an indistinct thirty-eight minutes of sound that plays like an extended jam session. Many bands have delivered excellent CD’s using a very similar formula, but Pain Necessary To Know falls flat because the atmosphere it creates is so stark and self-absorbed that it put me off as a listener.

There are flashes of the brilliance attained on The Painter’s Palette scattered throughout the album, most notably during “Vector, Second Movement” and the latter part of “Crystalline Whirl”, where vague semblances of repeating riffs and song structure make very brief appearances. The talent of the musicians is also still fully apparent, with jazz/blues drummer Davide Piovesan (who has since parted ways with the band) and funk/pop/prog bassist Fabio Fecchio forming one of the most unique rhythm sections in music. In the end, though, the talent of all the players combined cannot save the songs found on Pain Necessary To Know from disintegrating into a mass of unguided noise.

I don’t doubt that this review will rub more than a few people the wrong way – I just don’t get the artistry displayed by this album, right? – but in my opinion, it’s a huge step down for Ephel Duath when compared with their debut. For the moment, I’ll await their third release in hopes that they’re able to regain the songwriting genius they possessed on The Painter's Palette.

Release Details

Ephel Duath

Pain Necessary To Know

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