Customer Reviews

Maniacal Vale

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is pretty close. I'll just lay out some accurate adjectives for this album. And the listener can take it from here; massive, hallucinogenic, an almost tranquil underlying melodic beauty, horrifying,dehabilitating,and sincere. No cutting corners on this one. Easily, this is Esoteric's best work to date. By the way, contains excellent "organic" production values. Was reminded of a "Floydian" structure throughout, especially on the first disc. The usual term applied for this is "funeral doom." Never liked that. The Maniacal Vale is Extreme/Physcadelic/Doom. "Highly" reccommended. Don't miss this one.

This album is amazing. I had never heard of this group and picked it up on a whim after reading some forums online. I don't usually deal in straight-forward "Doom" groups...but I was hooked after the solo kicked in on "Circle".

I've never heard something so dark be beautiful and lush sounding at the same time. The closest I could think of would be Opeth (but that's apples and oranges). I definitely have to credit the production. The style is very simple at a glance, but there is A LOT going on if you have the patience to pay attention. It took me a good 2-3 listens to really get a feel for it.

This is one of the few records in recent memory that I've actually gotten lost in...it blankets you in the atmosphere and sound. People throw the word "epic" around A LOT these days. This album deserves to be described as such.

Highly recommended.

Ridiculously deep growls, haunting tormented screams. This album creates a crushing atmosphere of the utmost level. Never compromising, never letting up. Prepare to find your depressed self.

"Circle" might just be the most perfect funeral doom song I've heard yet. 20 minutes of the saddest beauty. If for no other reason, buy it just for that song--and you'll still get more than you paid for. The Entire album is awesome. The collage work with the guitars is amazing. The soundscapes created are truly made to be the soundtrack to a war between God and Satan on the ethereal plains. Greg Chandler's vocal range is certainly impressive as well -from the lowest growls, to all out high pitched screaming. I've been listening to it for a week straight and can tell its going to be one of those albums that you'll never get tired of.

Its been a few years but finally a new album from Esoteric. The final verdict is yes its a quality album for doom fans and yes its going to be one of the top doom albums of 2008 but it doesnt stack up to their last album " Subconcious Dissolution ......". This one has more atmosphere and better production with more complex guitars but for some reason even after about 8 listens through this i just dont like it as much as their last. Overall maybe i was expecting a 5 star album from esoteric, im a tiny bit dissapointed since my expectations were way to high to begin with. I was going to give it 3.5 stars but maybe im judging to harshly and give it 4/5 stars.

It's "Esoteric" not "The Esoteric". There are currently 4 albums on amazon.com for this band. Subconscious Dissolution Into the Continuum and the new album coming in November are correctly listed under "Esoteric", while this album and Metamorphogenesis are listed as "The Esoteric". May sound minor, but it means that if you click on the band name for any album, you only get a list of 2 albums, because it doesn't recognize the other albums as belonging to the same band. Please correct this, amazon!

That aside, this album is nothing short of one of the greatest collections of music ever created. It's in my top 5 of all-time. I say that as someone with a wide range of taste in music for jazz, classical, progressive rock, post-rock, ambient, electronic, pop, alternative, hip hop, and other uncategorizable albums. I find that it has an odd relationship with Godspeed You! Black Emperor... While GY!BE feels like an observance of Planet Earth after humans are gone and the ruins of civilization are crumbling reminders of the human presence that used to be, Esoteric is like the act of destruction that leads to that world after humanity. It feels like slow, methodic fire raining down upon all cities of the earth simultaneously. I say "slow" in the sense that there's this dread that comes with it, like you're watching it happen and you have time left to do things but you can't stop it from happening to completion. It's over, you're over, and do what you can with the time you have left.