Have you ever been on a new roller coaster for the first time and closed your eyes for the entire thing? Me neither, but it sure felt like I did upon listening to Eibon La Furies‘ The Blood of the Realm. Almost Kafka-esque, the album takes abrupt turns, making it impossible to predict. Along with A Forest of Stars, Eibon la Furies follows suit in the exploration of ancient occult traditions in England. Both acts continue to help inspire an entirely new wave of dark, disturbing, ambient metal. If metal was around back in the days of Edgar Allen Poe, it would probably sound something like The Blood of the Realm and The Corpse of Rebirth. Unfortunately, where some long, drawn-out songs on The Corpse of Rebirth lack excitement, The Blood of the Realm goes completely overboard with it.
In some of the album’s opening songs, such as “Tears of Angels & Dreams of Demons,” the tempo is so upbeat that you might wonder why the band hasn’t classified their music as “black pop metal.” Viewing the music video for “And by the Moonlight” might initially make it hard to take the album seriously, but delving deeper may lead to the realization that the music is quite successful at portraying a time period that most have only read about in books. Eventually, the album settles down as sweeping crescendos, tremolo picking and raspy, slithering vocals become more apparent in “Horse of the Invisible” and “Winter Kings, Wicker Men & Her Infernal Majesty Brigantia.” The Blood of the Realm finally begins to show signs of consistency in “Dominion of Will,” and from then on follows a much more channeled concept. The darker moments are filled with more distinct sound effects such as howls, rainfall and even distant knives sharpening, which help take the listener through the album’s chaotic journey. With constant operatic choir vocals, horses galloping and spooky narrating compliments of The Furious Host, you’ll feel like you’re taking part in some sort of demented carnival, serving as an unwilling participant in a magic show gone completely wrong. The sound effects, all done by Spectral Symphony, are the most intriguing aspect of The Blood of the Realm. With small animals blowing bubbles under puddles of water, muffled dog barks and every other indistinct noise your reptilian brain will mistake as something dangerous preparing to lunge at you, the listener will feel like Sherlock Holmes, walking alone through the most sinister alleys London once had to offer.
With so many different variations happening at once, one can only wonder if Eibon has truly found their niche. Although the sound effects help take metal into uncharted territories, the overall foundation is lacking. For example, recording lo-fi guitars and percussion is something that is common in black metal, but the low-fi elements take too much away from the sharpness of what a symphony should sound like. This type of production makes the album sound completely dull at times. That’s not to say that opposites can’t attract. There are indeed people who like their cereal with some liquid other than milk, but it has yet to become a trend. If the worlds of symphonic metal and black metal are to one day come together, it certainly needs to be done differently than Eibon la Furies’ current attempt. However, if bands such as this one continue to bravely smash down the boundaries of what we currently define as metal, the genre will have no limitations and will always thrive. Until then, The Blood of the Realm remains merely a peculiar representation of an era of dark exploration.
