Rephormula
Encyclopedia
Phormula is the full-length debut studio album
by the Italian band Ephel Duath
. Originally released through Code666 label in early 2000, the album was reissued two years later by Earache
's sub-label Elitist. Bonus track
s on the reissue were three songs from the 1998 demo
Opera and two remix
es; this release was re-titled as Rephormula.
At the time, Ephel Duath consisted of Giuliano Mogicato and Davide Tiso, both playing guitar, accompanied by synthesizer
s and programmed drums
. Mogicato was the main composer of the album, but both members of Ephel Duath added their ideas to the arrangements, with influences from old Norwegian black metal mixed with electronic music
.
, in February 1998, initially as a studio project, by the duo of Davide Tiso (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Giuliano Mogicato (vocals, guitar, bass). The project debuted in October that same year with the demo
Opera. This recording sold over 1,000 copies and topped MP3.com
's heavy metal charts with over 20,000 free downloads, which drew attention of the newly-founded Italian label Code666 who signed the band in late 1999. The duo recorded and mixed the album at Fear Studio in Ravenna
, Italy. Phormula was released in May 2000 and was well-received by critics, who generally praised the creativity of musicians as well as their experimental combination of electronic music
and extreme metal
. However, this success did not prevent the departure of Giuliano Mogicato in June 2001. In a 2008 interview with Avantgarde-metal.com, Davide Tiso discussed the departure of Mogicato:
Later in 2001, the Code7 agency (a division of the Code666 label) sent the band to sign a four-album deal with Elitist Records, a sub-label of Earache Records
. In early 2002, Earache/Elitist decided to re-release Phormula, adding two remixed songs and a sampling of Ephel Duath's original demo, 1998's Opera, as bonus tracks, and changed the title to Rephormula.
and Limbonic Art, but incorporated dark
, gothic
, and avant-garde musical elements in the songs' structures. In a 2002 interview with webzine Chronicles of Chaos, Davide Tiso stated that Ephel Duath compositions are made in a "very spontaneous" way, and noting the band's complex arrangements, he added: "It just flows from within us. We [Davide Tiso and Giuliano Mogicato] love to have spontaneity with what we do, a lot of it comes from the initial guitar lines that act as a skeleton for the song at hand. [...] We try to keep our ideas very open to every style of influence and bring that somehow into what we do."
as "simultaneously innovative and enjoyable." Stylus Magazine
reviewer Cosmo Lee stated that Phormula "ran Norwegian black metal through a funhouse of electronics and demented wackiness." Regarding the use of a drum machine
, critics were of different opinions; Pedro Azevedo of Chronicles of Chaos considered it "well used [...] despite some less than perfect passages", while Neguras writer saw what he called "electronic drums" (a drum machine was used) as the only negative aspect of the album.
Production
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by the Italian band Ephel Duath
Ephel Duath (band)
Ephel Duath is an Italian progressive metal band, formed in 1998 in Padova, Italy. They have had a constantly changing line-up with guitarist and songwriter Davide Tiso, being the only original member. To date, they have released one demo, four studio albums, and two remix albums...
. Originally released through Code666 label in early 2000, the album was reissued two years later by Earache
Earache Records
Earache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
's sub-label Elitist. Bonus track
Bonus track
In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...
s on the reissue were three songs from the 1998 demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
Opera and two remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es; this release was re-titled as Rephormula.
At the time, Ephel Duath consisted of Giuliano Mogicato and Davide Tiso, both playing guitar, accompanied by synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s and programmed drums
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
. Mogicato was the main composer of the album, but both members of Ephel Duath added their ideas to the arrangements, with influences from old Norwegian black metal mixed with electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
.
Background
Ephel Duath was formed in Padova, VenetoVeneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, in February 1998, initially as a studio project, by the duo of Davide Tiso (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Giuliano Mogicato (vocals, guitar, bass). The project debuted in October that same year with the demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
Opera. This recording sold over 1,000 copies and topped MP3.com
MP3.com
MP3.com is a web site operated by CNET Networks providing information about digital music and artists, songs, services, community, and technologies. It is probably better known for its original incarnation, as a legal, free music-sharing service, popular with independent musicians for promoting...
's heavy metal charts with over 20,000 free downloads, which drew attention of the newly-founded Italian label Code666 who signed the band in late 1999. The duo recorded and mixed the album at Fear Studio in Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, Italy. Phormula was released in May 2000 and was well-received by critics, who generally praised the creativity of musicians as well as their experimental combination of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
. However, this success did not prevent the departure of Giuliano Mogicato in June 2001. In a 2008 interview with Avantgarde-metal.com, Davide Tiso discussed the departure of Mogicato:
We have been a great communion for a lot of years, but after the Phormula recording session, my bandmate Giuliano [Mogicato] became completely confused regarding the Ephel Duath’s future. He wanted to move the new sound to some "anti-metal" form; Ephel Duath in his conception would be an instrumental band with percussion, cello and others acoustic instruments. I preferred to continue alone, because I thought he would destroy the spirit of the band.
Later in 2001, the Code7 agency (a division of the Code666 label) sent the band to sign a four-album deal with Elitist Records, a sub-label of Earache Records
Earache Records
Earache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
. In early 2002, Earache/Elitist decided to re-release Phormula, adding two remixed songs and a sampling of Ephel Duath's original demo, 1998's Opera, as bonus tracks, and changed the title to Rephormula.
Style and influences
The music on Phormula, including that of the bonus tracks on Rephormula, was mainly written by Giuliano Mogicato, then the band's main composer. The band's ideas and arrangements have been influenced by the raw sound of the older era EmperorEmperor (band)
Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
and Limbonic Art, but incorporated dark
Dark ambient
Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Although it had its roots in the 1970s, Dark ambient emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of newer, smaller, and more affordable Effects units, synthesizer and sampling technology...
, gothic
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
, and avant-garde musical elements in the songs' structures. In a 2002 interview with webzine Chronicles of Chaos, Davide Tiso stated that Ephel Duath compositions are made in a "very spontaneous" way, and noting the band's complex arrangements, he added: "It just flows from within us. We [Davide Tiso and Giuliano Mogicato] love to have spontaneity with what we do, a lot of it comes from the initial guitar lines that act as a skeleton for the song at hand. [...] We try to keep our ideas very open to every style of influence and bring that somehow into what we do."
Reception
Phormula and Rephormula received generally positive reviews. A writer in the Romanian magazine Negura said: "It's full of magic and mystery and you can sense there’s a whole (alchemic) process going on at the same beside the music." Jason Taylor of Allmusic said that the album "is certainly one of the most intriguing black metal albums to be released." He also praised the reissue as a "welcome introduction" to the duo's music. The webzine Chronicles of Chaos praised the album's tempoTempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
as "simultaneously innovative and enjoyable." Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
reviewer Cosmo Lee stated that Phormula "ran Norwegian black metal through a funhouse of electronics and demented wackiness." Regarding the use of a drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
, critics were of different opinions; Pedro Azevedo of Chronicles of Chaos considered it "well used [...] despite some less than perfect passages", while Neguras writer saw what he called "electronic drums" (a drum machine was used) as the only negative aspect of the album.
Track listing
Personnel
Performers- Giuliano Mogicato – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, vocals, programming - Davide Tiso – guitar, synthesizer, vocals, photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Production
- Antonio Morgante – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Giorgio Spolaor – engineer, mixing, mastering
- Gabry – engineer, mixing
- Paso – engineer, mixing, remixing
- Tim Turan – mastering, remastering
- Tomàs Bican – photography
- Peppe – artworkCover artCover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...