France is known for its experimental, unique and interesting Black metal scene, but who associates the country with Sludge/Doom metal? That's right, virtually no one. That may change soon though, as France now has a wonderful representative for the style, in the form of Eibon. Built upon the ruines of various older, dissolved Doom/Death bands, these guys haven't wasted much of their time in the "garage phase". Only three years after their forming, they already have a split and an EP in their discography, of which the latter is now up for discussion.

Compared to their genre mates these guys are not really extreme or over-the-top brutal. Really, the first thought that popped up in my head when I put this album on for the time was: 'hey, this is nice and smooth'. The riffs especially are, although lead heavy and crushing, smooth and well-produced. And although this band is predominantly Sludge/Doom in terms of use of instruments and vocal chords, they have post-rock influences dripping through the entire record. Check the wonderful build-ups, the capture-and-release structures of the two songs and the continuously present melodic aspects for examples of these atypical influences.

There's still plenty of extreme stuff present though. The aforementioned lead heavy riffs, a set of nastily deformed vocals and drum work with a lot of bass-drum and cymbals. And bass. A lot of bass. Usually the guitars take on a more melodic approach, but the crushing, pummelling bass more than makes up for that. All in all, this record is a great hybrid of atmosphere, heaviness, groove and beauty. It's a real shame this EP is so short, merely twenty minutes, but the quality of the tracks is high. If you're looking for something that's a little easier on the ears but still sludgy, doomy and captivating, look no further. "Eibon" will perfectly fulfil that wish. And keep a sharp eye for news on a new release!

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