The original 1993 Demo, re-mastered for CD release on Aesthetic Death records 26th December 2017
Re-issue of the 1993 demo - only 1000 copies on 20 page digibook cd.
This band has come a long way. We must be careful to be too harsh; they had to start somewhere, after all. But be assured that this demo is nothing compared to what the band would later become. It is hardly worthy of the name “Esoteric”! Indeed, point of fact, it was not originally released under that name, but under the name “Esoteric Emotions”. A lesser name for a lesser work… quite appropriate.
That’s not to say that it’s bad! Or not good, or even less than great. If it had been released by another band, it would now be a cult classic in its own right, deservedly. There are few bands that I hold in higher esteem than Esoteric. It is not as good as their later material, but that’s only to say that they’ve improved with time – in fact, I would argue that they’re continuing to improve even in the present, a rare trait for a metal band. That’s a discussion better left to another review, though.
Esoteric’s music is notoriously difficult to classify or describe accurately, but supposing you’re unfortunate enough to be unfamiliar, an adequate shorthand description might go something like “brutal ambient doom/death” or maybe “psychedelic funeral doom”.
It would be fair to take issue with either of those tags as being a little too limited, but they were at least a little truer back in the days of this demo. They were a bit more straightforward, a bit more direct, a bit more “metal” and not as complex. The rhythm guitar is bearing most of the musical load, and it presents more of a solid, riff-oriented attack than the abstract ambiance of the newer material. There are some psychedelic effects, but they aren’t carried out to the point that confused reviewers will describe the lead guitar as being a “synth” as they seem apt to do of the newer albums.
But once again, this is all relative. Imagine a scale of doomy strangeness with As the Flower Withers on the left, representing solid death metal construction, and Metamorphogenesis on the right, representing intangible artistry. This is somewhere in the middle, but probably a bit closer to the left. Still, if you haven’t heard Esoteric and you’re thinking of Withers as being on the right side of the scale, this is bound to turn your ears inside out.
Freeing ourselves from any external reference points for a moment, consider this individually as raw and sick metal – the best kind, if you’re in the spirit. It has enough forward drive and rhythm to be listenable, but still grinds along slowly enough (dipping into ambiance here and there) to work its way into the deeper recesses of your brain, instead of merely banging your head and being forgotten soon after. It’s twisted stuff; not too elegant, but it gets the job done, and quite nicely. A bit like murdering someone with a hand drill.
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
