Epheles "Dead Nature for Humans Without Tears" CD Digipack

Comes in a 4 panels Digipack format with an 8 pages booklet and a picture printed CD. 2021 Reedition
Reedition of the 1998 Demo by french black metal band EPHELES

Epheles releases have always impressed me, but much of their talent and ability doesn't really make itself as known on their debut demo, Dead Nature for Humans Without Tears. It very much lacks the sophistication and variety behind their second demo, Les Anges de la dernière Scène, which was a far bigger improvement. Still, this is a decent demo, albeit not the least bit essential.
Dead Nature for Humans Without Tears (DNfHWT) is a simple six track demo featuring four metal tracks and two ambient/instrumental interludes. The metal reminds me of several LLN projects like Belketre, Mutiilation, and Torgeist. Maybe it's because of the cheap production, the raw sounding music, the melancholic themes, or the fact that all these bands are French. Where Epheles differs is the use of keyboards to supplement the guitars. They don't make a big presence and are used sparingly in an attempt to create a saddened atmosphere.
The ambient interludes are somewhat generic keyboard pieces, but they are completely fitting to overall themes of sadness and melancholy presented throughout the demo. An atmosphere is still conveyed and it works. Some of the metal tracks have more variety than others, which is good because the longer tracks do this best while the the shorter ones don't need to be that dynamic anyway.
Overall, everything here is at least decent, but here's the main problem: the horrible clean vocals. They appear not all the time, but enough so that you can't always avoid them. The best example would be in the middle of La Beaute des Douleurs. Never have I heard such weak, whiny, and effeminately clean vocals. The vocalist even slurs them so their effect lingers. It's quite a buzz kill and also a shame because his harsh vocals are competent enough.
If you're a big fan of Epheles because of other albums you've heard, I would check this demo out if you have some spare time. It's completely outclassed by their following demo in almost all ways. with the exception of the horridly clean vocals, there are some decent things going on here.

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