If I didn't know the answer, my guess for Ekho's native place would have been a Scandinavian country. Their music is just so Nordic! However, they come from afar south, Israel. 'Among the Shadows of Erebus' is the band's first demo, but they were formerly know as Echo, who released one demo, too.

Let me tell you, that you're in for a treat, if you love 1990's darkness that came from the cold lands of Pohjola. Ekho are far from evil, but they do possess magical charm. The title track starts this enchanced journey with quite majestic symphonic metal style combining melodic death metal and black metal. Tinkling synthwork adds a cold feeling (not quite Christmas-like, hehe). Waltzing 'Waters of Abyss' follows the opener's style. 'Silent Mourning' is partly more melancholic, as its title suggests, but never losing in majesty. It also adds folky bits on the demo. 'Across' is an airy, spellbounding flight in acoustic guitar supplementing wondrous synthscapes. The vocals are unvarying black metal growl, which do their job.

As mentioned, Ekho do sound old. Many bands come to my mind when listening to this. Old Dimmu Borgir, 'North from Here' (1993) era Sentenced, Summoning during most majestic riffs, and melodic death metal of Nocturnal Winds (especially 'Everlasting Fall' [1999]) and Unanimated. Magical yet earthly atmosphere is simply embracing. The lyrical themes are taken from Greek mythology, but it still makes me think about wintry landscapes of the North. The compositions are well-designed, never drifting into languor.

And as the sound is reasonably good, if totally demo-level stuff, 'Among the Shadows of Erebus' should satisfy dark metal enthusiasts who love 1990's Nordic style. A very, very enjoyable demo!

Reviewed by Lane
03/05/2010 20:45