◄◊► EUROPEAN METAL CHANNEL ◄◊►: ETHEREAL

What do you get when five young and talented musicians combine the complexity and melody of Scandinavion trash/death with the brutal force of American metalcore?

Ethereal is about one thing and one thing only: creating overwhelming, jaw-dropping music which guarantees a good-old ache in the neck tomorrow morning. While the bands’ five musicians can show skills that put them in the Premier League of the Dutch metal scene, they are not afraid to mix solid songwriting with a decent dose of showmanship. Thus, guitarist Michiel Quakernaat and synth virtuoso Uri Dijk (who won the “Best Musician” award at the 2010 Grote Prijs van Nederland) will give you dual solos rarely seen in the metal genre. There will be sticktricks, and a bassplayer who loves running around stages as fast as possible. You will get frontman Daniel Verbrugge, officially ranked top-three Dutch grunter of 2009, and drummer Eelco van der Meer, who’s vast experience makes him the perfect and impressive motor for the band. Moreover, you will get movement, passion, surprises, massive energy, moshpits. You will get everything you hope for when visiting a metal show.

Ethereal, formed by Michiel Quakernaat and Uri Dijk in 2005, got into serious business upon releasing their 2008 “Prologue” ep. Early 2009, the band added bassplayer Bjorn van der Ploeg (Trip Trigger) and drummer Eelco van der Meer (Last Breath Denied, Cirrha Niva) to its line-up. It proved an excellent move: after performing for the first time in June 2009, Ethereal went through an extremely successful season. The quintet played over 40 shows throughout The Netherlands, including major festivals such as Bevrijdingspop (Haarlem) and Werfpop (Leiden). Out of nowhere, the band won the prestigious Rob Acda Award, as single loudest band ever. In Deptember 2010, Ethereal performed an astonishing show at the Melkweg in Amsterdam, and took home the Grote Prijs van Nederland, by far Holland’s largest band competition. After releasing their second ep “Lunacy Falls” in January 2011, Ethereal will continue to conquer the Dutch metal scene. This is the start of something that is about to get a lot bigger.

So, what do you get when combining Lamb of God’s astonishingly raw energy with the melodic powerplay of, let’s say, Children of Bodom? You will experience a band who’s classical and prog influences are as present and impressive as are their brutal and epic riffs. A band who’s live performances are unlevelled. A band, most of all, which will satisfy the needs of every person who loves loud music. This is ETHEREAL.

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