Artist: Eternal Helcaraxe
Title: To Whatever End
Type: Album
Label: Self-released

An ambitiously-packaged and lengthy EP from these Irishmen speaks volumes as to their confidence, a confidence that extends to having a three minute orchestral introduction and ten-minute plus epic to close out proceedings. They certainly aren’t doing things by half and married to some captivating artwork and a pristine production, ‘To Whatever End’ is clearly meant as a statement of intent. With the suitably brooding classical piece out of the way, mainman Praetorian and his men charge into the lurching deathly groove of the title track. This does not last long though and before long we are taken back and forth from clattering blasts to acoustic picking overlaid with morbid twin guitar harmonies, and this within one song alone. Capably played and deftly executed, the musicianship of the band is without fault.

When it comes to songwriting however, the situation is not quite so clear-cut - ‘To Whatever End’ is very much a mixed bag. On the one hand, Eternal Helcaraxe seem to be predominantly mired in the kind of melodic black metal that in the mid-Nineties used to be almost the sole preserve of the No Fashion label. We’re talking acts like Naglfar, Noctes, The Moaning and the like - sturdy enough bands but ones that hardly set the pulses racing or the breath quickening with excitement. They’re clearly good at it but more often than not fail to transcend the trappings of the genre when playing at pace. Nevertheless, this side of the band is juxtaposed neatly with a more reflective, somber side which raises their game significantly. Heavily reminiscent of Agalloch’s seminal release ‘The Mantle’, these sections (such as the title track’s main refrain or the breakdown mid way through ‘All the Battles to Come’) demonstrate a real compositional deftness.

For a young band, Eternal Helcaraxe show considerable promise and potential. If they are able to up the quality control of the more black metal side of their sound (simply trem-picking up and down E-D-C power chords isn’t enough these days) and blend this with their keenly developed sense of atmospherics, Ireland could well have another worthy outfit to add to their gradually burgeoning roster of A-grade black metal acts.

www.myspace.com/eternalhelcaraxe666