EPHRAT: No One's Words (PROGRESSIVE METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Coming from Israel, Ephrat released their first album under the German label Inside Out in 2008. At the head of the band, Omer Ephrat, who composes and provides the guitars, keyboards and flute, accompanied by drummer Tomer Z already present on the excellent Blackfield. The vocals are shared between the main singer, Lior Seker, and two outstanding guests in the persons of Daniel Gildenlöw of Pain Of Salvation and Daniella Nettermalm of Paatos. No One's Words is mixed by a certain Steven Wilson, the most Israeli of English artists.

"The Show" opens the hostilities with a good melodious metal riff supported by a vintage keyboard. An excellent way to start a progressive metal record. After a succession of very successful verse-chorus an oriental atmosphere is introduced by an acoustic guitar, a flute and some percussions. The rise in power sees the fundamental harmonic texture exploited until the end of the piece. This very pure track is full of excellent ideas.

With "Haze" the atmosphere changes radically, we go from a progressive metal and its few symphonic touches to Trip Hop. The melody of the beginning is quite dissonant with a lot of syncopated and asymmetrical rhythms. Daniella Nettermalm's voice blends perfectly with the harmonic choices of this track and her quite mastered singing tempers admirably the power of the magnificent chorus. An atypical but extremely rich track.

"Better Than Anything" begins with a few notes of clean guitar opening the way to a flute and an acoustic guitar. The big riff follows up quickly. The vocals are harmonious on the verse but it is the chorus with its lyrical flights transcended by layers of keyboards that embodies the quintessence of this track. Later, an Arabic texture interspersed with soaring vocal sequences of the best effect comes to enrich the listening. The track ends up in an apotheosis with the recurrence of the main theme (one of the themes would be more accurate) coming to die on some Hammond chords.

On the only instrumental track of the album, "Blocked", the spirit of Porcupine Tree still lingers. A riff is repeated in a recurrent way letting the electric guitar in a saturated sound, then in a clear sound, as well as the organ expresses itself. Nothing particular to note in this short instrumental track, rather airy and well-made before attacking the last two tracks of the album.

It is Daniel Gildenlow who makes his appearance on "The Sum Of Damage Done". The vocals are a bit distorted and one wonders if it's really Daniel who starts on vocals. It is only during the very melodious chorus that we can recognize the characteristic high-pitched thrusts of the Swede. The second part of the song is much more atmospheric and Daniel is better heard, even if he remains on a certain reserve which could be frustrating for the listener. The same atmospheric architecture comes to finish the song but with an energy driven by a very powerful interlude. Once again, the almost ten minutes of this track only seem five because Omer Ephrat knows admirably how to compose dense music by instilling them with a saving volatility.

"Real" is quintessential of what Ephrat does best. This progressive piece of nearly 19 minutes is the climax of an album that did not disappoint or bore us for a second. An anthology of very diverse atmospheres follows one another, from a Beatles-like piano inspiration, a deck that Dream Theater would not have disowned, embellished with vintage keyboards, or an acoustic guitar in conversation with a fine but relevant bass.

The performance of the musicians is flawless and remains one of the main arguments of the incredible accessibility of the album. Tomer Z doesn't move away from his upbeat grooves practiced on Blackfield, and in that way, he never overwhelms the music. The guitar is never there to take the spotlight while Lior Seker's vocals are fairly neutral but fulfill their role without failing. The musical richness is perfectly mixed by Steven Wilson and his imprint is obvious on the general output of the album.

No One's Words is not just another progressive metal work, because although it is marked by most of the codes that this musical trend imposes, it develops numerous and brilliant ideas. In spite of its complexity, the album can be quickly tamed in two or three times. It will not take longer to convince you that No One's Words is a great record. - Official website

EPHRAT

NO ONE'S WORDS

INSIDEOUT MUSIC

PROGRESSIVE METAL