In their native France ETHS are superstars. The quintet from Marseilles has graced about every music magazine cover in their home country. Their success story began with the release of two EPs, which spread like wildfire and gained the young band cult status. "Autopsie" came out in the year 2000 and the raw emotionality of singer Candice Clot on top of a raging mixture of Metal and Core captured the immediate interest of their rapidly growing following and critics alike. Its explosive successor "Samantha" (2002) added fuel to the fire. Even without a full-length out, ETHS had to start performing on top of the billings by popular demand. Now Season of Mist is proud to re-issue these two milestones of French Metal with the addition of four previously unreleased bonus tracks.
This follows the highly successful re-release of ETHS' first full-length "Soma" (2004) in May 2012, which also included four then-unpublished exclusive bonus tracks from the demo sessions to satisfy the continued high demand for this album. When “Sôma” originally hit the stores it became an overnight success and catapulted the quintet from Marseilles not only on the covers of nearly every music magazine in France, but also outsold established metal headliners like CHILDREN OF BODOM or CRADLE OF FILTH there. The pure undiluted energy and anger bursting out from “Soma” once more driven by the stunning vocals of singer Candice made this debut an instant classic.
With follow-up "Tératologie" (2008), ETHS demonstrated their experience and maturity grown out of playing hundreds of show. This album saw the band begin to tour more abroad and gain fans all over Europe. Hailing from an ancient Mediterranean harbour town, it should be no surprise that ETHS adapted a musical style resembling a vital melting pot of Core, post-Korn Metal, orchestral and electronic elements and more that seemingly effortlessly merge into organic, hard and still very catchy songs. At the front of the band, live and on record stood singer Candice, easily mistaken to be responsible only for her honey-sweet angelic vocals. Wrong, as the dark haired beauty unleashes brutal growls, fierce rasps and venomous hissing no less impressively.
Having thoroughly conquered their native homelands, ETHS were ready for the next step. With their catchy third effort "III", the Marseillais aimed beyond their borders. To underline their challenge abroad, for the first time in their career ETHS released an international edition of "III" with four English versions of the original French songs. "III" also marked the return of fan-favourite drummer Guillaume aka Yom and the induction of new bass player Damien. The band were ready to embark on an extended musical journey starting in France during spring and later continuing in Europe, with an option to reach out overseas well. Yet even the best laid plans can go wrong. On September 18th, 2012 Candice Clot announced her unexpected departure from ETHS due to important private family commitments. Her personal reasons were fully accepted by band and label although with a sad heart. Yet the French were not ready to give up. A continuation of the tour was soon announced after some re-scheduling and Candice' vocal duties are shared for the time being by Virginie Goncalves of KELLS fame for clean singing and the spectacular growls of Nelly Wood.
Conceived in 1999 although Candice had already joined outstanding guitarists Staif and Greg two years earlier, ETHS now march on without her and have all intentions to return with a new album and a new line-up in a hopefully not too distant future. Hold on and look out for further news…
Il aura fallu plus de 4 ans aux marseillais d'ETHS pour donner un successeur à "Tétralogie" son deuxième album. Dans cet intervalle le groupe a pas mal tourné, en France bien sur, mais aussi un peu partout en Europe et dans le monde, obtenant une certaine crédibilité. Car depuis ses débuts, ETHS a pas mal divisé le monde métallique hexagonal. Si la jeune frange de fans a immédiatement adhéré à son néo métal teinté de hardcore et porté par la voix éraillée et sombre de Candice, le groupe s'est en revanche attiré les foudres d'une partie de la communauté, le prenant pour un effet de mode et raillant ses aspects rebelles et emblématiques d'une jeune génération en crise d'identité. Malgré tout les marseillais ont tenu bon, fait le dos rond, muri et ils ont travaillé tranquillement pour donner un successeur à "Tétralogie". Candice a pris le temps de la maternité, a sorti une méthode de chant rock et métal en 2011 tandis que le groupe changeait de bassiste et voyait le retour de Guillaume Dupré à la batterie. Ce "III" dispose d'une production colossale, claire et puissante, sortie des studios Fredman (Opeth, In Flames). Le groupe n'a certes pas fondamentalement changé sa musique, proposant un mix entre hardcore, heavy death et néo métal porté par une Candice qui alterne hurlements et chants clairs avec aisance, mais on sent une franche maturité et une intelligence de composition tout le long de l'album. "Voragine" lance l'album avec fureur mais elle se voit adoucie par de nombreux passages chantés en clair. C'est cette caractéristique qui fait la force d'ETHS, alterner les passages hurlés, sur lesquels Candice n'a pas grand-chose à envier à Angela Gossow, et passages clairs, presque pop. "Harmaguedon" en est une belle preuve, le tempo est très brutal mais quand Candice se lance dans la douceur vocale, cela crée un contraste surprenant et très prenant, presque schizophrénique qui fait largement son effet tant ce mélange entre pop et death hardcore fonctionne à merveille. Et avec "Adonaï", au passage final parlé, sombre et ensorcelant à souhait, "Inasis Venter", savant mélange vocal de hardcore et de pop, Candice sortant même sur la fin des vocaux que ne renierait pas Mylène Farmer, "Sidus", très death tribal à la Soulfly dans l'esprit et "Hercolubus", il y a de quoi faire au niveau mélange de brutalité et de douceur. Il y a même un tube en puissance avec "Gravis Enter". Le titre chanté essentiellement en clair propose une introduction heavy et groovy, d'excellents riffs, un aspect rock plus accrocheur et des arrangements orchestraux assez inattendus qui finissent le tout en beauté. Enfin avec "Proserpina", aux multiples changements de tempo, et "Anatemnein", belle pièce rock et sombre aux limites de l'atmosphérique sur la fin, ETHS montre une nouvelle fois son évolution avec des titres très bien construits. Ce "III" est donc une belle et grande surprise. Oui ETHS n'est plus un simple groupe pour adolescents en crise mais une formation crédible musicalement et artistiquement menée par une chanteuse charismatique qui n'a rien envier à ses consœurs. En tout cas ce disque devrait permettre aux marseillais de frapper fort bien au delà de nos frontières.
ETHS is one of those rare bands that have only put out a few albums, but everyone who is a fan of the more underground female fronted Metalcore groups know exactly who they are. Falling in line with groups such as OTEP and KITTIE, the band has blended a raw, aggressive stance of chugging guitars with raw, screaming vocals combined with softer melodic sections. Their last release - ‘Teratologie’ - really put this French quintet to most fans’ attention, though it was much rawer than what they have done here with ‘III’. For those who felt that ETHS was just a bit too much on the aggressive side, then this album will set things right. Here, the band loses a bit of the harsh bellow snarls and hisses and makes more use of the clean vocals and more melodic guitar passages for a more accessible release that could pander to a wide variety of Metal fans. The music is still pretty Metalcore based, but there are more electronic elements and symphonic elements involved such as on the track ‘Hercolobus’, which is also one of the heavier tracks with its thunderous chug and snarling vocals from Candice who still maintains that soft and creepy innocent crooning that was such a hit on the previous release. However, to hear her really sing in a more pop Metal fashion such as on ‘Gravis Venter’ is a step in the right direction as it has that perfect balance of sweet melodies that is much more appealing than just hearing her growl. While the underground fans might not like it, more mainstream Metal fans will certainly gravitate towards this.
One thing ETHS still seems to struggle with a bit is their epic track formula, although with ‘Anatemnein’ they’re getting better. In the past, usually the song would go on for about five minutes and then leave then next seven with silence. While there is some silence here, ETHS include a lot more extras so listeners don’t feel like it is wasted, such as electronic moments and a dark, symphonic closing. Despite the fact that many will feel like they heard this exactly on the previous interlude ‘Praedator’, it is certainly a welcome thing to hear aside from silence. Also, to appeal to the more mainstream crowd, despite all the songs being in French, Candice sings a few in English so she can actually be understood. In the past her French hissing was a whole new level of unique mystery to unravel that made the music all the more fierce, but for those who were really looking into hearing what she had to sing/ growl about were often a bit lost. And plus that, she sings on almost every song now also helps to clear her voice, even when it is layered to great effect between singing and growling. What fans are left with is still a dark, sinister version of ETHS, but they don’t sound so “out of the circle” when it comes to comparing them to the more popular artists of the Modern Metal day. What is even more fortunate is that despite ETHS becoming a bit more mainstream, they still maintain a unique edge that puts them ahead of so many different artists who are still doing the same thing over and over while ‘III’ is proof that ETHS will evolve again and again.
Ooh matron bare breasts on an album cover, that’s not going to go down well on the record shop shelves! Mind you who the hell buys their albums in the shops nowadays and it is no doubt an artistic statement and hardly exploitative like some of these nasty death metal bands go out to shock with. Eye catching cover aside, just who are Eths, as if you live outside France you may not have encountered them? Luckily I have, as I quite enjoyed their last album Tératologie which came out in 2007 and even managed to catch them live supporting Christian Death and interview the Marseille based band around the time of its release. There is absolutely nothing about Eths that is easy to pigeonhole. In fact when they started out in 1996 named ‘What The Fuck,’ that particular name although not going to win them any subtlety awards was pretty apt. At the front we have the excellent vocals of singer Candice who’s lush and gorgeous vocals can be quite sublime. She is however not a lady who needs backing up by any beast as far as her voice is concerned as she is quite capable of unleashing cadaverous rasps, growls and hisses too and often comes across as quite possessed. Musically the last album had a real nu-metal feel to it but that should not put you off as it was bolstered by a death laden tumult too and this and the deathcore approach has certainly been expanded here on album III, a title that speaks for itself. The first bar of opener ‘Voragine’ sounds like it has been lifted from A Clockwork Orange theme, which is slightly disconcerting before the song properly and very solidly boots in with muscular drumming and humungous roars. It quickly changes as the vocals go all sweet and honey flavoured, really making you wonder if this can be the same singer. Melody is rich and the song twists and turns drawing you right into its grasp. Although vocals are in French on some songs Eths will be releasing an international version of the album with four English versions of the French songs, which is what I have here. Still like label mates Kells the fact things are in French here does not spoil any enjoyment for me, hell some of those venomous roars are way beyond translation anyway. There is plenty of groove about the numbers as well, the likes of countrymen Gojira would not be a bad reference point as songs like ‘Harmaguedon’ limber up and bounce all over the place with mosh heavy sensibilities. Adonai, is a real standout amongst nine other really good tracks, it was the one that was chosen for a video clip which is honestly as out there as the music itself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7OKJgPuY6M and had me wondering if I was watching a post apocalypse Exorcist or something. The visual elements are backed by both brutality and a to die for chorus. The solid pummeling of Inanis Venter with ranting stomp laden delivery wouldn’t be out of place on a Slipknot album and would be a good song to drive the disillusioned on the streets as they spill out the estates and riot in the streets of Marseille. You find yourself waiting for a pure ballad but you never get one. For every moment that things do go syrupy the brutality is again quickly enforced. Another album highlight is ‘Sidus’ with heavy orchestral embellishments driving the pace along. The best way to listen to this album is turn it up, the production is excellent and it rages away from beginning to end, each and every song giving you shades of light and dark and delivering a nice firm ass kicking during its running time. As the apocalyptic strains of ‘Anatemnein’ deliver a final judgment it is evident that III is a really good album and one that the band deserve being heard further afield with.
Französischer Metal bekam in jüngster Zeit ja eine gewisse Popularität, die sich aber schnell als recht einseitig herausstellte. Da muss doch noch mehr gehen?! Natürlich geht da noch mehr. Schaut man sich abseits von verschneitem Post Black Metal um, gibt es Interessantes zu entdecken, wenn es darum geht, verschiedene Ansätze miteinander zu verbinden. Nu Metal, Modern Metal, Melodic Death und Deathcore? Kein Problem, Eths müssen sich dafür nicht einmal räuspern. Auffällig ist ja bereits das Cover der neuen Eths-Platte, die den numeralen Titel "III" trägt und, zugegeben, durch ausgemergelte Barbusigkeit und ein gewisses Dritte-Welt-Feeling besticht. Schön komponiert und kunstvoll zusammengefügt, macht das Plattenbild einen soliden Eindruck und ist auch bei mehrmaligem Hinsehen immer noch ein interessanter Blickfang. Warum ich mich hier ewig über das Cover auslasse? Wie das komplette Album ist auch allein das Cover mehrere Blicke wert und nicht einfach schnell und hastig zusammengewürfelt. Wenngleich es einen bei der Beschreibung schütteln mag, aber Eths sind das, was Korn nach ihrer "Issues" verpasst haben. Wo die Amerikaner sich immer weiter dem Mainstream angenähert haben und folgerichtig erst zum Hip Hop und neuerdings zum Dub Step kippten, gehen die Franzosen, um die stimmgewaltige Sängerin Candice, mit aller Kraft in den Extreme Metal. Könnte man mit dem Artwork noch erwarten, dass man dezente Soulfly-Tendenzen kredenzt bekommt, hört man bereits mit "Voragine", dass der Vergleich mit Korn gar nicht so weit hergeholt ist. Mit der einen Ausnahme, dass in den Riffs, welche Eths auf "III" anstimmen, unendlich Wucht, Kraft, Innovation und Gefühl steckt. Alles angetrieben von einem krachend-aggressiven Death Metal-Schlagzeug, das vor Groove nur so strotzt und von einer Stimme zwischen Angela Gossow, Wykked Wytch und Sandra Nasic (Guano Apes) vervollständigt wird. Dass dabei einige unheimlich starke Momente entstehen ist fast schon keine Erwähnung wert. Das feminine Stimmvolumen ist schier beeindruckend und passt sich perfekt in die jeweiligen Stilabschnitte ein, ohne dass das Songwriting zu berechenbar oder weich klingen würde.
Selbst kein zu großer Fan weiblichen Gesangs muss ich sagen, dass diese röhrende Schönheit ordentlich was vom Fell zieht, doch stets auch die Stimme für beeindruckende Melodie-Passagen beherrscht. Eine sehr gelungene Nu-Metal/ Melodic Death-Verschmelzung, die zeitweise, vor allem an den klaren Gesangsstellen, sogar an Alcest erinnert, ohne dem Schneemann zu viel Erwähnung schenken zu wollen. Die musikalischen Referenzen lesen sich vielleicht eigenartig, erschließen sich aber schnell: Arch Enemy, Hypocrisy, Korn, Filter, Alcest, Guano Apes und ein Spritzer Deathcore haben allesamt ihre Spuren in dem Quintett hinterlassen. Davon rückt jedoch nichts zu sehr in den Vordergrund, als dass Eths an Eigenständigkeit verlieren würden. Wer Innovation sucht, sollte sich "III" nicht entgehen lassen, denn hier steckt Potential drin. Mit Sicherheit kein Tipp für vltra trve Vndergrovnd Black Metaller. Aber Jeder, der einen Sinn für genreübergreifenden Metal hat, sollte den Marseillern sein Gehör schenken. Mein Tipp: "Sidus". Gänsehaut-Riffs, stimmungsgeladene Melodien und eine unwahrscheinlich facettenreiche Sängerin, welche von tonalen Grenzen nichts zu wissen scheint. Beeindruckend, mehr kann man eigentlich nicht sagen. Wo sich der amerikanische Nu Metal in den Tod gestoßen hat, reißen ihn die Franzosen mit rettender Hand aus dem Boden. Nu Death Metal par excellence! In diesem Sinne, merci beaucoup Mdm. Candice!
