REPHORMULA

"RePhormula" is a re-release of the 2000 "Phormula" album by Italian black metal act Ephel Duath. "RePhormula" was released by Elitist/ Earache. The album is considered to be a seperate release though, with a new title, cover artwork and 5 additional tracks.

The eight first tracks on the album are the tracks from "Phormula". The next two tracks are remixes of "The Embossed" ( called "The Embossed (On the Corpse)" in this version) and "Instinkt" from "Phormula". "RePhormula" ends with the three tracks from the 1998 "Opera" demo.

The music on the album is experimental/ symphonic black metal with programmed drums. A band like Emperor often comes to mind because of the chaotic sounding swirling classical inspired synths. The programmed drums are an integrated part of the music rather than an excuse for real drums, which I unfortunately often find is the reasoning behind using programmed drums instead. There's good variation in the tempo on the album and you'll be exposed to both mid-paced and blasting sections. The vocals vary between harsh black metal rasps and clean vocal parts. The remixes aren't the most exciting thing if you ask me, but remixes are usually an aquired taste. The three bonus tracks from the "Opera" demo are pretty interesting listening though.

I gave "Phormula" a 4 star rating and there's no reason to give "RePhormula" anything less. It's not that the bonus tracks are the most nessesary additions to the original album, but they don't hurt either and personally I think it's pretty exciting to hear how innovative the band already were on their demo. A 4 star rating is deserved.