Band: Fall Of Efrafa
Album: Elil
Year: 2007
Country: United Kingdom
This is one of my all time favourite albums. I've been listening to it pretty much regularly since I discovered Fall Of Efrafa about 3 years ago, and I've never ever for a second got tired of it. And still, after our 3 years together, I can still fall in love with new things or parts I've never noticed before. Elil will forever be the love of my life.
So, what is so special with this album? Frankly, I don't know. It consists of 3 songs, each one being about 20 minutes long. "20 MINUTES?! THAT'S LIKE... FOREVER!" people not used to this post-kind of music will say. But the thing with these songs is that they are so well written that you will never understand how those 20 minutes past by. The general pace of this album is quite slow, but just before you get tired of the slow part, one of these amazing build ups kicks in. Then there's a minute or two of "swing the hand your having your beer in" D-Beat. The anthem-like lyrics will also cause any person to transform into an anti-religous bitter anarchistic freedom fighter.
Song(s) you should listen to: Once you've started to listen to one of the songs, there is no return. You won't be able to skip the track. Therefore I recommend you to listen to the whole album while traveling by train or bus. By the time you get off your ride you will be so inspired by all the genius samples featured on this album. How about:
"People sometimes says "there must be more than just this world, and just this life". But how much more do you want? We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die, because they're never going to be born. The number of people who could be here, in my place, outnumber the sandgrains of Sahara. If you think about all the different ways in which our genes could be provicted, you and I are quite grotesquely lucky to be here. The number of events that had to happen in order for you to exist and in order for me to exist. We are privileged to be alive, and we should make the most of our time on this world."
Band: Fall Of Efrafa
Album: Inlé
Year: 2009
Country: United Kingdom
The band itself describes this album as "80 minutes of rabbit-obsessed post-hardcore". Two questions might pop up in your head; "What? Wait? RABBIT?!", and "Is that the only damn reason to listen to it?". I will provide you with some answers my friend.
You see, Fall Of Efrafa is a concept band, basing their music on the novel "Watership Down". The novel is pretty complex, but in short terms it's about a group of rabbits who foresees the danger of man, and leaves their colony to find a safe place. Their journey is full of drama, and the author handles a lot of occuring problems in our world, in a more rodent kind of way. Finally they find the colony called Efrafa, ruled by the horrid dictator General Woundwort. The narrative rabbits decides to crash down this colony and save it's slaves. And this is what the band Fall Of Efrafa writes their music and lyrics about.
As far as the reason for listening to this album goes, just do it. It's truly epic and well written. Every song is not really a song, it's an anthem. It's anthems we will rise upon and sing when the human kind is facing it's extinction.
If you're still not convinced, just repeat the album title for yourself. It flows on your tongue. And in Watership Down, Inlé is the black rabbit of death. It can't get better than that.
Song(s) you should listen to: Republic Of Heaven is probably the song you will find the most attractive when you listen to the album the first couple of times. It's the most melodic and energetic song on the album, and includes charming sing-a-longs like "The king is dead, we bound his face, cut off his head. We spit at thee, we curse at thee, our god is dead".
Fu Inlé is on the other hand my favorite song on the album. It's basically about a conversation with Mr. Death himself, and it's therefore pretty dark, but soothing and calming. It's if he tries to calm you down and making you not being afraid of dying, and it's success I would say.
Woundwort gets on a close up second place. It's so beautiful written. It will build up and make you explode into a library of emotions. Especially the guitar in 11:30, which would make the hardest stone face on earth to melt.
Warren Of Snares is also a song that grows on you. In fact the whole album grows on you, so just forget what I said and listen to it again, again, and again.
