The Eternal
Sleep of Reason

I had high expectations for this album by the Australians The Eternal, I searched for it for a long time, and when I finally managed to buy it, it confirmed everything I was looking for: it's a beautiful revelation, a band that, in my opinion, has everything it takes to make its way in its genre. "Sleep Of Reason" is the second effort of this talented group discovered by those geniuses at Firebox, a Finnish label that has always been a great source of young and promising bands. The group's genre is, broadly speaking, a gothic metal heavily influenced by doom cadences, "mydyingbride-like" romantic atmospheres with echoes of Anathema and Katatonia, but the recipe is extremely catchy and fascinating. Described like this, it would seem like a great mix of many influences, a work by a group trying to please as many audiences as possible at the expense of quality and personality. Nothing could be more wrong. The album is an infusion of decadent and melancholic atmospheres, steeped in resignation and anger often bent to the will of destiny, and it consists of eleven tracks almost all noteworthy, each with a particular characteristic that makes it different from its sisters while remaining faithful to the original idea.

If the opening "Awaken, Arise" seems a rapid descent into typically doom sounds, with the slow guitar and drums marking a whirlwind pace, the second track "Everlasting" leans more towards gothic metal. The singer's voice is very deep, expressive, and malleable according to the interpretations he intends to give (notice the total absence of growl, which is not missed at all). The track is supported by nice keyboard work and perhaps reaches its emotional peak in the break shortly after the halfway point. Its chorus is catchy and energetic, but that doesn't mean it's simple music: by blending so many genres (and so well), one is pleasantly surprised, and if there is a sense of deja vu, it is not at all overwhelming.

It seems unnecessary to describe each track individually, since, at least stylistically, the ingredients are the same: a gothic framework alternated with doom and atmospheric flashes, a voice that sometimes seems (deliberately) distant, as if coming from the deepest part of our soul, excellent rhythm section, and evocative keyboard work. It's on the level of sensations and emotions that the songs truly differ, each really telling its own story.

Perhaps more significant moments are, besides the already mentioned "Everlasting", "To Drown", "Hollow Inside" (perhaps the most poignant and marked by an incredibly moving chorus, partly thanks to the second female voice), "A Dream's End", and the final "Weight Of Empathy".

"Sleep Of Reason" has the characteristic of captivating you from the start with its gray and rainy atmospheres, with its morbid melancholy that takes hold of you, and its dark allure. It's very easy to listen to, drawing from various genres and authors but blending them perfectly to create a work truly worthy of attention. If you're looking for something easily digestible yet able to leave something within you (and not just another gothic doom rehashed in a ludicrous manner), this is the album for you. For everyone else, for the most uncompromising doomsters, give it a listen anyway, and I am sure The Eternal will leave a wonderful impression on you as well.

If the sleep of reason generates monsters of this kind, then welcome "Sleep Of Reason", an excellent work by this Australian band that definitely deserves attention.