Eternal Tears Of Sorrow
Chaotic Beauty

THE REVIEW

This work of less than forty minutes, when it was released in 2000, highlighted the originality of Eternal Tears of Sorrow to the growing ranks of fans who gradually came together around what we now, today, call "Swedish Metal", which includes some of the world's best productions in the specifically melodic Death Metal category, and more broadly, the entire Heavy Metal genre.

While not yet at the sublime and dizzying levels of the subsequent "A Virgin And A Whore", it already showcases itself, with all the good that can be derived from these five Finns who expressed themselves then in a certain Black Metal sui generis, with marked references to the icy atmospheres that this genre encompasses. However, it would not be fair to classify it as a proper Black album, because in many parts the symphonic contaminations and the airy gothic melodies can be felt, besides, of course, a powerful and precise rhythm section, reminiscent of the melodic Death of Arch Enemy and Dark Tranquillity.

Sure, we are a thousand miles away from what other bands composed and published in those years, but the seminal contribution that ETOS provides with this work still covers a significant segment of a range of very strong and very well-arranged sounds and sensations. The first song "Shattered Soul" is neither more nor less, a good example of well-played and paced Black Metal but, naturally, lacks the necessary "rawness" of the sounds to classify it as such: the nocturnal melodies can still be glimpsed between the lines, and it is a delight to feel part of them; then, with "Blood of Faith Stains My Hands", it shifts to melodic Death Metal, with the addition of a primarily heavy and mocking chorus. It's probably with the third song that one really enters into the spirit of ETOS. "Autumn's Grief" starts with a melancholy piano chord and travels the boundless expanses of the "northern lands" with great skill. Exquisite melodies for discerning palates, lonely and gothic rhythmic parts that seem to weaken, or at least soften, the aggressive and martial chorus and sung part. A true gem, worth the purchase of the entire album on its own.

And so the journey of melody and dream continues throughout the work, sometimes stopping to be pindaric and elusive (The Seventh Eclipse, Bride Of The Crimson Sea, Bhean Sidhe), sometimes rhythmic and fierce (Black Tears, Tar of Chaos), and then ultimately dedicating itself to the dreamlike and vague contaminations of "Nocturnal Strains".

This too, as will be the case with "A Virgin And A Whore", is an album rich in pathos and charm, with references to ancestral cultures and melodies that directly hark back to ETOS's origins. However, this does not take away from the fact that, beyond everything one might think or not share about this band, one simply cannot ignore the unique originality and the talented sonic archetype that they have always brought to a genre so overwrought.