LP Review: "There Is Nothing Left For Me Here" by Ether

There Is Nothing Left For Me Here

Since my earliest childhood days anime has been a large part of my life. From Voltron to Speed Racer as a very small child to Inuyasha, Rurouni Kenshin, Trigun, Happy Lesson, et al.

Let's just stop there because it would take a month of Sundays to tell you all about my favorite titles and pontificate about them.

(Yes, those are the more common ones, but there are some more obscure as well and I didn't just get them all off of Adult Swim or Toonami thank you very much. We can have a nerd fight if need be.)

Watching anime is hard because it's culturally Japanese. That certainly sounds like a ridiculous statement, but how many Americans know what it means to hear the cicadas in Ghost In The Shell during a scene that takes place in February?

Ether

One of the big sticking points non-fans have regarding these Japanese animated programs is the shouting of someone's attacks.

It really makes no sense, but it does set up the viewer, i.e. myself, to pay attention to what's about to happen.

Then we see the full power that's ready to be unleashed.

Ether...in the very beginning, sounds like any run of the mill sludge band. There's perhaps a glimpse here or there. The power shows slightly.

It's not until the screaming hurts the singer more than it does the listener.

Then the power is unleashed and this record becomes more than just standard fare.

When the attack was loosed upon me, the unwary listener, it was able to awaken a greater sensitivity to the music. That was when the violins became easy to spot. Presumably, they were there the whole time, but now we can hear them.

Can a band be overtly subtle?

Ether's sophomore assault would easily win the Battle of Sekigahara and unite all of Japan. It may take many listens to be able to understand the full intensity of this record, but I'm willing to give that time.

Release: 7/7/17
Genre: Sludge Metal
Label: Dead Truth Recordings
Formats: LP/CD/Digital
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