Ephel Duath Bio

Ephel Duath was spawned in February 98 to satiate the band members' desires to create, innovate and articulate the finest black metal yet. The duo, consisting of Davide (Guitars / Vocals / Synths) and Giuliano (guitars / vocals / bass / synths / programming), started to add flesh to the bare bones of their mutual vision. In October 98 "Opera", the first Demo-Tape, was unleashed upon a cynical world, and already Ephel Duath were being hailed as genuine forerunners in an aggressively over-populated scene. "Opera" set out the band's stall, showcasing their unique take on black metal, fusing complex rhythms, technical guitar and synth work, epic classical scores and heart soaring melody. The response was overwhelming: Over 1000 demos were sold and the reviews in the likes of Metal Hammer and Grind Zone were nothing short of staggering.

In 1999 the band signed a deal with the new Italian label Code666 and set about recording their debut album. In the meantime Opera blasted the mp3.com black metal charts, reaching No.1 with more than 20,000 downloads so far, which led to MP3.com reprinting the Opera demo onto CD for sale through the website.

Phormula, the band's debut album, was recorded at Fear studios in 2000, and was released by Code666 to hails of superlative strewn reviews. With this album, Ephel Duath realised their potential to the extreme. It's a dazzling display of virtuoso programming, stunning musicianship and over-the-top complexity, the likes of which the black metal scene has never known before.

This masterpiece caught the ear of Lee Barrett, founder of Candlelight Records and now A&R-ing for Earache Records via the Elitist imprint. The band signed a four year deal, and Elitist were able to negotiate with Code666 for the worldwide licence of Phormula, in order to push the full potential of this debut to a wider audience. Now repackaged as "Rephormula", it contains the songs from Rephormula, plus bonus remixes from Paso and Homo Homini as well as three tracks from the Opera demo sessions, clocking in at 75 minutes in total. Superb new artwork by Peppe at TemnO Un.art and complete remastering by Tim Turan of Turan Audio (who can count Emperor and Opeth amongst his many credits) add to the overall high quality. This will, without doubt, be a highlight of the 2002 black metal calendar.

Giuliano has since left the band, and Davide has been busy writing new material and assembling a full line-up to fulfil his desire for live work. Rehearsals are going well, and the new album is taking shape for recording at sometime during 2002. Davide has promised "more of everything" when asked about the future direction.



Described as "black metal for the computer generation" and even "the Dillinger Escape Plan of black metal", Ephel Duath are all this and more. Futuristic, nihilistic and utterly compelling, the new dawn of the genre lies at their feet. The old leaders are dead: All hail the new Kings!