The project’s mastermind, Lars, created a monumental, melodic doom in the spirit of Insomnium, Rapture and Before the Dawn, and the material had depth, power and gravitas. It seemed like the work of an experienced and polished group of musicians, despite some weaknesses. Years have passed since that review and I had almost given up on Ethereal Darkness for good.
6 years later, the solo project is now a full band ready to tour in support of their latest release. And what a great release it is! At 60 minutes, Echoes takes the style from the debut and pushes much further, with much longer compositions and greater ambition in the writing. If that isn’t enough, it also features cover art by Adam Burke and production by Dan “The Fücking Man” Swanö! Is bigger better in this case? Can bigger truly be MOAR? And how are these guys still unsigned? These are the questions of our time.
It takes plenty of balls to open with an almost 11-minute song, but Ethereal Darkness do exactly that with “Gone With the Tide”. If the atmosphere on Smoke and Shadows impressed you, this will launch you into the next multiverse. It’s an epic, sweeping tapestry of massive melody that hides nothing as it transports you to enchanted forests and towering mountains of snow and ice. It recalls the best works of Be’lakor and Black Sun Aeon, but there’s also plenty of Insomnium in the DNA. The guitar is stunning, full of sadboi trilling and doomy weight. Lars’s death vocals are very effective, acoustic guitarist Brecht’s clean singing hits the mark, and the plunges into explosive darkness are timed adrenaline spikes. This is a stunning song and one of the best so far this year, and it flies by despite its size. “The Cycle” continues to maintain the high quality. It’s like a crazy blend of Eneferens and modern Amorphis, and you should have to pay a lot of money for such a potent drink. It’s the kind of song you get lost in and lose track of time, and when you write songs with 8-10 minute runtimes, that’s essential.
Elsewhere, “Winter” moves toward blacker environments, channeling Saor and Nechochwen as epic soundscapes rise and are explored. The guitars here are beautifully rendered, and it stands as yet another triumph for this unknown project. Equally monolithic is “On the Edge of the Cliff”, where the music becomes more aggressive and urgent, deftly combining black and melodeath idioms for maximum impact. There’s an epic Viking metal energy here that makes you want to conquer and rule the weak, and you feel dangerously strong. Despite all that gorgeous opulence and sonic decay, there are also some weaker moments. “IV” is very, very good and recalls my beloved Rapture, but it ends up feeling too long at 9:45, and trimming it by a few minutes would help. The enormous “Realization” runs 13 minutes, and despite good-to-great moments throughout, it’s undone by its sheer length and breadth. In its final minutes, I struggle more and more to stay locked in and attentive. At a runtime just over 60 minutes, Echoes can be a daunting listen due to its density and length, but the reward is worth it. I can’t find a single fault in the Swanö-based production, as everything sounds rich, gorgeous and heavy without being noisy or oppressive.
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Lars handles guitar, bass, keyboards and harsh vocals, and to say he did a stunning job on every front doesn’t quite cover it. There are some big, emotional moments here thanks to his heroic 6-string music, which references Tuomas Saukkonen’s works without imitating them. His deep, deathly roars disrupt the music with power, and his blackened laughs and screams cut through like lasers. The restrained use of keyboards should be a case study for other bands in the genre. They add atmosphere but rarely rise from the distant background. Becht offers relaxing acoustic guitar passages and clean vocals that convey passion and emotion. Peter’s drumming is a huge improvement over the programmed percussion from the debut, giving the material vitality and weight. Applause from everyone for this crew!
Echoes is a bigger, better album than Smoke and Shadow in every way, with several tracks worth including in the Song of the Year. The album’s length and the bloat on some tracks keep it from even greater heights, but only barely. This is a rich feast for the ears and the mind, and I have a feeling I’ll spend a lot of time with it over the coming months. Ethereal Darkness are about to draw much more attention in the metalverse, and they deserve it. Listen to this enormous beast or become less mortal. Someone sign these sweet guys, please!
Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: NA | Format reviewed: WAV
Label: Self-Release
Websites: etherealdarkness.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/etherealplace | instagram.com/etherealdarknessband
Releases worldwide: March 20, 2026
