El Bandit Both Ways

Nick’s Word on “Llaphis”:

In a perfect world, thunder would strike the ground, only to birth blossoms of bright mysterious colors, rain would pour for hours upon hours on a daily basis and El Bandit Moor would play the song “Aillament” at my funeral with family and few friends weeping over an open casket. Since the world is far from perfect, I’m stuck with “Llaphis”, a phenomenal demo from Spain’s very own El Bandit Moor, minus the rain for days and thunder stricken blossoms. A record that was released under the shadows of money hungry record labels, “Llaphis”, is the sort of find that most dream of yet only few conquer. This record is the treasure and gold found on a sunken ship in the deep depths of an ocean, not even raided yet for some poor soul’s pleasure.

A 3 track demo that is full of wealth, guts and just an overwhelming sense of pride, any label founder would be lucky to have this on his line-up of releases. These sort of records seem to be hard find in the doom/black genres, not sure why but the galaxy needs to open those ears. “Melancolic Plaer”, the second track on the demo, also the second longest track, gives you the sense of that if the clouds opened up at this vary moment, the sun would burst into flames and we would all be killed in the blaze. Only in a perfect world, right? Outstanding gloomy riffs fill the air with this track, something along the lines of a fog filled road down the country side during the peak of early morning dawn. The riffs on this track give you that black metal vibe mixed with a more slow tempo on bass -n- drums that you can find on any doom track, it results in apathy filled arousal on many different levels and forms.

On a side not, the fact that a doom/black project such as El Bandit Moor actually care about guitar leads is something I applaud and love. The most power driven black metal filled track on the record is the closer, “Tempesta”. Even though you get that doom feel in each of the other two tracks, “Tempesta” really makes you feel like haunting the streets in corpse paint while stalking random humans with axes in hand. The only vibe this track gives off doom wise is the vocal style. No high pitch growls or screams like in past/present black metal records, more of a deep, guttural tone, if you ask me.

Overall, this album needs nothing at all re-done to it; no reconstruction, no plastic surgery, not a damn thing. It’s not flawless, it is great the way it is though, so love it like it’s your next unborn child. The way this record just takes control over you and makes you wait on pins and needles for the next move is something spectacular. It has that form of power most records don’t have these days in the metal scene. True, “Llaphis” was dropped back in ’09 but when you listen to it, you dream of empty streets in Spain being covered in the moons glow while you walk alone pondering on how the world might end at any given second. I’m glad I got my hands on this gem, it’s a record filled with pleasure, darkness and gloom, which in this case, are all virtues.

You can download it here.

Sarah’s Word on the 2008 Demo:

El Bandit Moor is a black/doom band from Spain who only produced two demos a year apart. Not much else is known about it except that it’s a one-man band and the influence for it’s name is Karl von Moor from F. Shiller’s “The Robbers” (“Die rauber”).

I’m looking at his 2008 nameless demo. The three songs on it average from 6 to 7 minutes long each. The black metal influence is obvious with the guitar work, vocals, and drums. Personally, I don’t see the doom in this. It’s very good ambient black metal though. Vocals come in and tear at you at the right intervals and the guitar work is versatile ranging from rhythmic work to distorted noise. Bass’ presence isn’t overwhelming if felt at all. As with bands like this, their main purpose is to evoke darker emotions within us. What I get from this demo is so much pain and sorrow with a bit of muffled anger. Perhaps that’s why the man behind this project added “doom” into the genre field in the first place. If so, then he deserves quite a bit of credit for more than successfully making that intent carry through the music.

I would have to say that the song that accomplishes this the most for me is “L’enemic Interior.” It’s grotesquely beautiful but very very painful to listen to which makes it all the more alluring in my eyes. Vocals at 2:55 to 3:06 make my heart ache. Whatever pain this person tapped into must have been pretty fresh and/or deep. My advice is to not listen to that song if you’re going through some hard times unless you’re the type that becomes detached. At which point, this demo takes the place of a sympathetic ear.

Part of me really really wishes that the lyrics were known to the online world. They would add another layer to emotions that the music is trying to express. Regardless, enjoy this release from a fairly unknown project that almost slipped past my gaze.

You can download it here.