Last year, being new to the site, I could only read the entries in MattA75's annual I'll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours Write-Off. I found the concept interesting - two reviewers give each other a CD to review. Usually it ends up being something the other is not familiar with, which results in some rather enjoyable reading. This year I was invited to take part, and I was paired up with the ironically named musicsucks - he's fifteen years old, and he has aspirations of taking over the entire site! I sent musicsucks a burned copy of Clock DVA's Digital Soundtracks, which I assumed he'd find kind of weird. Musicsucks in turn sent me a copy of Painter's Palette by Ephel Duath. Actually, what musicsucks has done is drop a sixteen mega-ton bomb into the middle of this year's write-off!

The Miles Davis album Aura is based upon colors - various colors representing the letters in Miles' name. Like Aura composer Palle Mikkelborg, Ephel Duath finds the correlation between color and sound fascinating. Each song on The Painters Palette is subtitled as a color, much like the tracks on Aura are named after them.

There are three primary colors in this world - red, blue and yellow. Until an artist comes along and chooses to mix them, that's all they are - red, yellow, blue. But when they are mixed, more colors are made, opening up endless possibilities. Musical instruments are colors, in a way. A guitar is just a guitar, until a musician decides to pick it up and play it. At that moment the possibilities are endless - the player can now choose to play jazz, heavy metal, punk, classical - basically whatever sounds he or she wants to make. Ephel Duath founder Davide Tiso chooses to make multiple sounds with his guitar. Rather than painting in just red, blue, and yellow, Tiso uses his guitar to play intricate jazz lines, He also plays heavy metal power chords - on The Painters Palette he runs the gamut from prog-rock fusion to jazz guitar to heavy metal riffs to blistering, white-hot soloing.

A microphone is just a microphone, until a singer picks it up - then it becomes an instrument of expression for the singer. The singer can talk or rap, the singer can sing, or the singer can scream. Ephel Duath has a singer, Davide Tolomei. Tolomei has a pleasant voice, perfect for a prog-rock band. In fact, AMG's Stewart Mason likens him to a King Crimson-era John Wetton, which is fairly accurate. Ephel Duath also has a screamer - Luciano Lorusso George, who brought a hardcore background to the group, and screams as if the very fate of the Earth were at stake. Together, the two vocalists compliment each other much in the same way that red and blue make purple.

At the time The Painters Palette was recorded, drummer Davide Piovesan was forty-seven years old. A jazz-blues drummer, Piovesan had no heavy metal background to speak of - yet he ably pulls off heavy metal-style fills as if he were playing them his entire life - a willingness to paint something different for the sake of art. Such is the case with Piovesan's rhythm section partner, bassist Fabio Fecchio - a player in the prog-fusion world willing to play something a bit more extreme. This most unlikely of rock bands is joined by guests Paso (synthesizers and electro-noise) and trumpeter Maurizio Scomparin.

The Passage (pearl grey) features most of what has been mentioned previously - heavy metal power chords and trumpet blasts take over from intricate bass and guitar riffs. Tolomei sings while Tiso rips guitar solos under him. George screams. Suddenly, Tiso, Fecchio, and Piovesan break down into a very delicate, intricate jazz piece. The Unpoetic Circle (bottle green) starts out with some very technical prog-rock riffing from Fecchio while Tiso plays heavy riffs and George screams. Fecchio keeps the bass riffs going as the band slows down and joins him. Tempo shifts abound as the band effortlessly switch between prog-rock and metal.

Praha (ancient gold) throws yet another twist at the canvas - a very Miles Davis-like muted trumpet opens the proceedings. As Scomparin plays, the band settles into a slow, jazzy groove behind him. Tiso begins some subtle yet quick soloing underneath. As the tempo opens up, the trumpet loses its mute and the band kicks into a free-form jazz boogie. As the track ends at 5:17, you realize you've just heard what is often referred to as a death-metal band play a wonderful piece of jazz-fusion. Ruins (deep blue and violet) ably switches back and forth between prog-rock and heavy metal. Piovesan displays some wonderful, technical, gonzo drumming here, while both Tolomei and George handle their respective vocal duties in top form. Tiso's guitar playing is top-notch, whether he's ripping out heavy power riffs or playing a jazzy solo. It's quite interesting to hear how effortlessly the group switches tempos and styles.

Ironical Communion (amber) really emphasizes the extremes Ephel Duath is capable of. Tiso starts things out with some jazzy noodling, joined by Fecchio on bass, while Scomparin plays a rousing trumpet solo. Suddenly, the band charges full throttle into hardcore metal mode - complete with loud guitars and even louder screaming. Piovesan keeps the metal-style drumming up while the others settle down a bit - Tolomei does some nice vocal work here, while Scomparin starts soloing again. Just as easily, the band later jumps into epic rock mode, with dramatic riffs - then easily jumps back into jazz-rock mode. Much like the entire album, Ironical Communion is all over the place - and it works!

Art is entirely subjective - one man's masterpiece is another's Velvet Elvis. Reading this, you might think "My goodness, what a horrible mess!" Two people looking at the same painting will see different things. One might dismiss is outright, the other may stare at it for hours, seeing the depth and detail that the other doesn't. Much like the guy who spends hours staring at one painting, I've been listening to this CD for a few days now - and I'm hearing a lot of depth and detail. The Painters Palette isn't for everyone, obviously - the screaming alone might drive some people away. However, if you happen to like heavy metal, prog-rock, and jazz - and you think all three might sound good together - you may want to check this out.


Be sure to check out all the participants in this years write-off:

JennJoy and andym173

minorthreat78 and SixerMan

grandpa_riot and plorentz

Guildenstern and Stairway2Drew

jeff_wilder78 and DrFaustus

speeddemon531 and lambchops

foxy_shy and shilmafone

teamfreak16 and musicsucks

flamepillar and Given2FlyMike

crypticcradle and MattA75

redsox75 and PacManY2J

crazedkrinkle and titan45

divad23 and bob_tomato

roheblius and JiggyJay

cletta1201 and MattA75







Recommended: Yes