You might think the idyllic countryside of Hampshire and fluffy bunny rabbits might not make material for a metal album. But incongruous as a concept album about ‘Watership Down’ might seem at first, the novel revolves around themes such as politics, displacement from home, and fear (the album translates from the Lapine for ‘darkness’ or ‘death’); ideal topics that fit Fall Of Efrafa’s epic musical aspirations precisely.

As a quick glance at the song running times will tell you, this is album of jaunty pop punk numbers: each track unfolds like the chapters of a novel, as inexorable as the passing of the seasons. Opening track ‘Simulacrum’ is like the first splashes of rain before the thunderstorm hits with ‘Fu Inlé’ (‘after moonrise’). ‘Republic Of Heaven’ sees it slow to a steady cosmic doom march the likes of YOB would be proud of, become it morphs into a march like the very beating heart of the Earth, and just as exhilarating as running through fields in that aforementioned thunderstorm.

It’s on ‘The Burial’ that things really start getting interesting. The slow down and release mechanism of the preceding track is there, but the remorseless mournful riff is entirely fitting to the theme of a dead god. With the aid of a lyric sheet, you really begin to appreciate the complexity of the concepts, not immediately apparent in the anguished bellowing. Akin more to more orthodox poetry than conventional lyrics, they nevertheless drive the music in a manner that is immensely satisfying: the slow crescendo that develops around the ‘where we lay, we will build/though we may falter, we will build’, in the midst of a revolution caused by the death of a tyrannical ruler. The closing track, ‘Warren of Snares’, a metaphorical lament to humanity’s self destructive tendencies, is certainly that; the closing minutes of this album sound weary enough to bring a lump to the throat of even the most stone hearted listener.

In the final analysis, ‘Inlé’, which itself is part of a trilogy, has as much scope and depth as the novel it’s based upon. Leaving aside the obvious comparisons that can be made musically: if you’re after a comparison, this is very much squarely in the Cult of Luna camp, with a dash of Pelican’s strangely uplifting choice of chords. In truth this does Fall Of Efrafa a disservice, since they possess their own special unquantifiable ingredients that make them especially compelling. It’s perhaps their own stated desire, which was just to write music that pleased them, that has made this swansong such devastatingly beautiful. Yes, sadly this will be the last release from Fall Of Efrafa, but the members can move onto pastures new safe in the knowledge they have left an immense body of work.

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Steve Jones

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