NO ONE'S WORDS

Another force from the east to be reckoned with.

Well, well, what have we here? Hot on the trails of Amaseffer we have another band coming out of Israel, also signed to InsideOut. Expectations and parallels will no doubt be drawn right off the bat seeing this artist's country of origin, but it seems that this band is trying to break the mold. While many bands to emerge from the East come out with all of their cultural guns blazing, creating a very eastern sounding group of bands like the formerly mentioned Amaseffer, and the better known of the Israeli proggers, Orphaned Land, this band is trying something different. With one foot square in the middle of American influences like Tool and one foot in the middle of the UK with influences like Yes while still shouldering a tiny bit of that eastern fell, Ephrat comes off as a very difficult band to describe. Most commonly lines are drawn between this band and Porcupine Tree for their similarities in mixing modern alt-rock with prog-rock tenancies of old to make a new and unique blend, which is probably what made Steve Wilson himself sign on board as an adviser to the fledgling musicians and even mixed the album. The musicianship on this album is tight, and even though the band was assembled as kind of a ''rag-tag'' bunch they all seem to gel. The rhythm section chugs along well, and Omer proves himself worthy by playing his flutes, keyboards and guitars in an exceptional fashion.

Other guests make excellent appearances as well. Throughout the album you'll be treated to more than one voice, even if lead singer Lior Seeker does a fine job as it is with his semi-whiny (in a good way) voice that's more often used in a low-tone to add some ''creep'' factor to the album. That factor is brought up exponentially, however, when you add someone like Petronella Nettermalm (Paatos) to the mix, her voice bringing back memories of The Shining during her time spent on Haze, the echoing vocals ''Come play with me...'' boring their way into your soul. This song also features some excellent guitar work from Mr. Ephrat himself coming into the last couple minutes of the song when the guitar work simply gets faster and faster until it's fast enough to induce headbanging, and then the vocals come right back in to chill everything down. While this is one of the biggest standouts on the album, there's still better things to come. One of those things is the excellent, The Sum Of Damage Done, given voice by the Swedish innovator of modern progressive metal, Daniel Gildenglow (Pain Of Salvation), who uses the full range of tone and moods during the course of the song to make for another powerful piece.

Of course, the band gets along just fine on their own as well. This is proven right off the bat with The Show, a winding pseudo-epic which starts with an almost techno-groove before moving into smooth riffs which slow into the delivery of the vocals. Things pick up until near the end when everything slows back down to a crawl. The album never becomes too fast or too slow to become uninteresting, and this song is a good demonstration of how the band is able to manipulate speed to keep things dynamic. Blocked is the shortest song on the album, being the only one under 7-minutes, clocking at around five, and it's also the only instrumental. It's a fine piece which is not an extraordinary exercise in self-indulgence and guitar wank-off-ery, but instead a meditated journey with heavy tones which separates two equally heavy pieces, one of which is the slow-starting but ultimately heavy ass hell Better Than Anything, which shows Lior's voice at both its most creepy (''who would have thought I'd have to give you up...'') and at its pitch limit. Excellent riffs from Omer throughout keep things moving along as well as a nice eastern bit of instrumental section right in the middle of the track along with some more emotive parts from each band member.

Of course the centerpiece for the album really is the final track. Real may not be a contestant to take down the almighty Close To The Edge, but it's a fine exercise in modern heavy prog that exemplifies that these kinds of things can be tackled, and not just by Porcupine Tree. With fantastic melodies which make welcome recurrences and some truly moving sections, Real can be seen as the definitive Ephrat track at present. It would appear that they really wanted to prove this as well, not only in the amount of production that went into the song, but also in the fact that the superstar guests are absent from this track (with the exception of the mixer, Steve Wilson), meaning that the band showcases, ''hey, this is what we're capable of!'' This song is where everything clicks, and being that it's the most eclectic in terms of styles, it's also the biggest standout after repeated listens - there's even a short section which borders on what could be called Electronica, which somehow fits. Someone once questioned why reviewers tend to note the longest song as the standout tune in prog albums, well, this is why - the amount of effort put into them makes them truly memorable when well done.

This band has got feet under them, and are yet another Israeli band which ''needs to be watched''. This debut shows a group of passionate musicians brought to life by great production and memorable songs. Fans of heavy prog should definitely check out this album. They're no ''clone'' band to Porcupine Tree, but that's the audience that they're shooting for. 4 stars out of 5! Some people have called 2008 an infertile year for prog - those people don't know where to look.

I followed the discussion about this band in the forum and one of the people who already heard the album said the opening track was the worst of them all. It shows how tastes can vary because the song that struck me most in a positive way was this same song, The Show. I really love it especially the first few and the last few minutes. Second track is with Petronella Nettermalm from Paatos. It's remarkable how her contribution immediately leads to similarity with the music of Paatos. Anyway, another fine track. Better than Anything is my second favourite and another cracking song. I hope this one will be the future general style and sound of the band and they will have another fan. Blocked is a pretty good instrumental track before it's Gildenlow time doing a song with the band making it all sound like his band Pain of Salvation. Looks like Ephrat is a sort of chameleon, they can change any time a guest musician joins them. I think this is the third great song making this already a successful debut. And then the longest (Real) is yet to come, in most cases I like the longest track best of them all but not this time really. Could also be I will have to get used to it more because it's a true epic, both in length as in complexity.

So not a bad debut at all by Ephrat, a very good one even and worthy of 4 stars to me (3,8). Recommended for those who like variety within an album (prog metal, heavy prog, cross over a.o.). Because none of the tracks is like any other of the 5 so that's another interesting thing about this impressive kick-off by Ephrat.

This might be EPHRAT's debut but they sure have some heavyweights helping them out. Omer Ephrat is the star here though, as well as the leader of this band playing guitar, organ and some flute. Steven Wilson who is no stranger when it comes to artists from Isreal mixed this album. Of course Steven is part of BLACKFIELD which features Aviv Geffin from Isreal, the drummer on this album is Tomer Z who played on the "Blackfield II" record. Other guests are Daniel Gildenlow who sings on one track, as well as Petronella from PAATOS who also lends her voice to one song. Interesting that this band has decided not to have that ethnic, middle Eastern vibe front and center like ORPHANED LAND or AMASEFFER.

"The Show" is a great song to open the album with. Once it gets going we get this nice guitar driven section, then vocals come in before 1 1/2 minutes as the sound gets heavier. After 2 1/2 minutes we get acoustic guitar and vocals only as it calms right down. It kicks back in as themes are repeated. Some good organ in this one as well. I really like this one. "Haze" certainly has a different feel to it with Petronella's beautiful vocals. She sings softly at first until the song kicks in and then she sings with passion. The contrast continues. I like the guitar before the heaviness returns with her processed vocals. Cello before 4 1/2 minutes. The tempo picks up after 6 minutes as they really "rock it". It ends gently with vocals to match. "Better Than Anything" opens with acoustic guitar as reserved vocals come in. Flute joins in with strummed guitar. The song kicks into gear 2 minutes in with guitar.This sounds awesome ! Love the heavy sound that follows. Check out the vocal melodies too. It sounds like mellotron before 5 1/2 minutes. Theatrical vocals before 6 1/2 minutes are cool. Organ with strummed guitar ends it. Next up is the instrumental "Blocked". It opens with a good heavy sound followed by ripping guitar and pounding drums. It settles around 3 minutes and then kicks back in before 4 minutes. Nice organ runs in this one.

"The Sum Of Damage Done" is fairly raw sounding once it gets going. Gildenlow's vocals match the soundscape here. He almost sounds like Doug from KING'S X, quite rough sounding. He's down to a whisper before 3 minutes as the organ floats in then acoustic guitar. The song kicks back in before 5 1/2 minutes. Killer section. I like the tasteful guitar late that goes on and on. "Real" is the 19 minute closer. It opens with strummed guitar as bass and organ join in. It turns heavy quickly though as drums pound away. A change after a minute as piano and vocals take over. Horns follow. This passage is really the only part of the album i'm not too thrilled about.The heaviness finally comes back though.Yay ! Sounds like mellotron after 5 minutes as it comes and goes. Some good riffs before 8 minutes. Vocals are back 13 minutes in. The tempo continues to change. Flute after 16 minutes.

A very solid 4 star album. I like this one a lot. Worth checking out if your into Heavy-Prog. Well done !

In My Not So Humble Opinion:

"No One's Words" by Israeli proggers, Ephrat, is a great debut CD and gives a hopeful glimpse of more to come.

Now, I will start off with this, when I imported the tracks from e-Music into iTunes, iTunes misordered the tracks such that I started the CD out with track two (Haze) and ended with track one (The Show). In retrospect, I kind of liked it that way, "The Show" runs directly into "Haze", when you break the two up over the course of an album; it gives an interesting bit of closure when the final notes of "The Show" echo what seemed like the beginning of the album. Nonetheless, after two weeks of listening to it, I've corrected the playlist and we're ready to rock.

For starters, I think Steven Wilson did a great job mixing this album. It sounds fantastic. Normally, I like the keyboards to play a more prominent role, but they are subtle and appropriate throughout the album. On the other hand, the guitar is anything but subtle, Ephrat's guitar work is rather melodic even when he's bouncing back and forth between clean and dirty, each chord sounds as if it's been carefully compiled. The rhythm section is tight and able to shift courses at the drop of a hat, and the rare synthesized techno beat only adds to the overall package.

The vocals are outstanding. There are obvious Beatles references and the addition of guest musicians Daniel Gildenlow and Petronella Nettermalm add additional layers of complexity to an already rich musical experience. Finally, the Middle Eastern flair throughout the CD puts this one over the edge. The flute work is hauntingly beautiful.

"The Show" starts out the CD with a subdued electronic beat that builds anticipation for about fifteen seconds before the rest of the band crashes in with a wall of sound that sets the tone for the album. From there, a round of almost Porcupine Tree sounding vocals takes you through the song proper. Finally at about the half way point, the sound drops to a low, but tension filled solo section with the guitar and flute echoing each other. This is beautifully done.

After a minute of ethnic rhythms and Nettermalm warbling, "Haze" continues with more of the complexities that started in "The Show", utilizing the mellow voice of Nettermalm alternating with the wall of sound created by the full band and Ephrat's guitar.

"Better Than Anything" is one of my favorites on this album, it starts out as a soft ballad highlighted again by the vocals and flute. This progresses through a series of styles; middle eastern, Beatles, and heavy prog. Finally, the big ending is magnificant; Ephrat's vocal harmonies are beautiful. In the last minutes of the song, there was either an un-credited appearance by Marco Gluhmann (Sylvan) or someone is doing a haunting impression of him. The last few minutes of this song are not to be missed.

"Blocked" is an ok song, it's an instrumental piece that sounds like it could have been worked somewhere into an epic. In my mind, it doesn't stand so well on its own. It's not a bad song, just more along the lines of filler than the rest of the album.

The first three minutes of 'The Sum of Damage Done" is the only weak part on the album. It's just a basic heavy rift without a lot of imagination. On the bright side, the last seven minutes are brilliant; Gildenlow's vocals combine with Ephrat's for some beautiful harmonies.

"Real" is the eighteen minute closer to the album and wow, this is a great song. I'm not going to give a blow by blow description of this song. Instead, I'll say this, the song is worthy of five stars and incorporates the following styles seamlessly: Heavy Metal, Techno, Beatles Pop, Middle Eastern World Music, Heavy Progressive . . . effectively, it acts as a beautiful sum of the entire album complete with the reoccurring theme tying the whole piece together.

To sum, this is an album not to be missed. When I started writing, I was going to give it four stars (4.4 actually), but I've convinced myself that it's worthy of a five star rating. This is a great album by a new artist that should appeal to fans of Porcupine Tree, The Beatles and World Music.

Ephrat appears to be an Israeli guitar player with a good reputation in the homeland. He must have made some name abroad as well because his debut features an all stars cast of sorts. With Steven Wilson at the knobs and Petronella Nettermalm and Daniel Gildenglow behind the mics on two tracks, Omer Ephrat has got himself surrounded with some great talent.

The music is well crafted and professional but is not remarkable enough to win the heavy struggle for playing time in my audio devices here. The Porcupine Tree-styled alternative rock meets prog misses the required amount of ideas to make it fully satisfying. The Show is too repetitious and the melodies are too simple and mediocre for 10.32 minutes. On Haze and The Sum Of Damage Done, Ephrat gets more balls going, but again, the melodies are not significant enough to keep them in the air. Repeated listens don't do these songs much good neither.

With Better Than Anything, the album reaches a first hightpoint. It's a moody piece with moving melodies and a nice Eastern tinged intermezzo. Blocked is a deserving instrumental with pleasant guitarwork. Real is a respectable try at 19 minute song writing, but most of the music is too undemanding to make it stand out against the myriad of releases in the prog scene these days.

No One's Words is a mixed bag that ends somewhere around 3 stars. I'll sure be interested to see what becomes of this project in the future.

Honestly, I don't know why I give this as much as two stars, because this is one of the ugliest listenings I've done in order to get to know a new prog band - in this case from an unusual country. OK, I'm not keen on nowadays' heavy music in general, but at least I can usually find SOMETHING interesting among that deirection as well (for example, PORCUPINE TREE has lately surprised me very positively!). The noisy music of this Israeli band has no qualities which would separate them from they gray mass of heavy "prog" acts. Even the slight use of flute gets so buried in the overall heaviness that I can't count it as such. The songs are all the same to me: depressing without being emotionally capturing or fascinating in any sense. On some track there was somewhat promising delicate intro, but it lasted just about for a minute before the same old heavy torture began.

So, personally I'm surprised by the good ratings this has gained here. But maybe I should leave reviewing plainly heavy albums to those enjoying the genre. I just hope this review will help listeners like me not to expect to enjoy this music. It's exactly as nasty as the cover and the inner photos of the same style.

Ephrat is a band from Israel taking the name from the leader Omer Ephrat, they got only one album untill now named No One's Words released in 2008. The band got quite a lot exposure in that period among prog listners, besides the great music offered there is as guest , Daniel Gildenglow from Pain of Salvation fame and aswell Steve Wilson did the mastering and mixing. Well, what we have here is a heavy prog album with some fantstic instrumental parts, mainly the guitar is top notch. Also from time to time the atmosphere goes in middle easter direction with nice flute breaks and quite great guitar passages, similar with Amaseffer in places. The opening track The show is killer. mid tempo with fantastic guita parts, aswell the sound is awesome, giving to the listner some very fine moments. If the instrumental sections are simply amazing, I'm not so atached by the vocals , both Lior Seeker and Daniel Gildenglow did a good job, but is not the vocal style I like to hear on such music, to many times going towards Porcupine Tree kind of stuff and Pain of Salvation. Anyway , Omer Epharat really know to handle the guitar and creating some crunchy riffs that goes even on prog metal territory in places, very fine moments. Besides opening track who is my fav from the album another highlight is the instrumental Blocked, some pritty dangerous guitar moments here, really awesome. All in all a fine album for sure, I like it, minus some vocal passages who drag back the rate for me, from 4 to 3.5. 3.5 it is for No one's words, fans of crunchy heavy guitars with some keybords here and there and some flute escapades, try it worth for sure.