siLLy puPPy FALL OF EFRAFA formed in Brighton, England in 2005 with the clear intent of releasing a trilogy of albums that revolved around the mythology of the 1972 Richard Adams novel “Watership Down” and then disbanding and that’s exactly what this band of Neil Kingsbury (guitar), Steven McCusker (guitar), Mikey Douglas (bass), George Miles (drums) and Alex CF (vocals) did. The term EFRAFA in the novel refers to a rabbit colony ruled by a dictator who oppresses the rebellion through law enforcement which are called the OWSLA (means warrior or defender), which is also the title of the first album of the trilogy followed by “Elil” and Inlé.” These titles come form the Lapine language used in the novel. Yep, this is some serious nerding out going on here!

In the big scheme of the vast music universe, FALL OF EFRAFA is quite unique in its approach having primarily taken its influences from post-metal bands like Neurosis and Agalloch, post-rock bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and heavy caustic post-hardcore and crust punk thus making a bizarre blend of stylistic shifts from atmospheric arpeggiated post-rock segments to bleak bombastic crust punk swells teased out into atmospheric sludge metal orotundity. The vocal style of Alex CF is also unique in that if falls somewhere between the extreme shouting style of Neurosis frontman Scott Kelly and the more angry crust punk sort of shouts that often struggles to emerge from the bombastic guitar, bass and drum angst. A cello accompanies to add a sense of impending dread.

These albums narrate elaborate tales with OWSLA recounting a despotic leader who gives his people a false sense of empowerment to that he can swoop in at the last minute and crush them. OWSLA begins the trilogy by outlining the tale of an unarmed society that clings to dated beliefs and remains paralyzed by the inability to overcome these stilted anachronisms. The following “Elil” continues by narrating how those very beliefs result in an oppressive reign of religious indoctrination thus showcasing the band’s staunch atheism. The final chapter “Inlé” deals with hope in the face of death and how a society that has clung on to certain values for eons must overcome the rigidness as they face a do or die situation.

With chamber folk and crust punk elements crafting a greater sum of the parts, FALL OF EFRAFA crafts a unique sounding album that takes disparate musical elements and casts a unique magical spell as it tackles deep psychology that has permeated humankind since the beginning of time. While hilariously set in the context of a warren of rabbits, the subject matter hits close to home and paints the bleak picture of human mind control carried out through conditioning and religious doctrines. OWSLA is a satisfying slice of post-rockand atmospheric sludge metal with elements of crust punk and highly recommended especially for those who love elaborate storylines that allude to the plight of homo sapiens however this is certainly an all or nothing affair and once you check out one album you are pretty much committed to explore the whole trilogy which was released as a whole unit in 2010 with “The Warren of Snares” boxset.

Doomster (Originally written by me to the Prog Archives.)

Ahh, Fall of Efrafa. What an interesting band.

A concept band based around the high fantasy novel known as "Watership Down", Fall of Efrafa were a British post hardcore/atmospheric sludge/rock group. For those who are uninformed, "Watership Down" is a fantasy book written English author Richard Adams, following the tale of a colony of rabbits. This may sound strange for a band to base a theme around, but Fall of Efrafa's lyrics and transcriptions from the book are well written enough for even non-readers of the book (like me) to be interested by their lyrics. This album, "Inle" is their final album. (On an unrelated note, Fall of Efrafa's category of albums were a bit oddly placed on the website I discovered them so it was a tad confusing.)

The music of FOE could very easily be described as pure post rock, in the vein of later Isis (USA) and Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Canada). However, it also has a very straightforward post-hardcore/atmosludge style which brings to mind the more aggressive side of Neurosis (USA) and Dirge (France). The fourth track, "The Burial" is a song that incorporates both the sludge metal and post rock - it goes from incredibly heavy, to incredibly soft and soothing, and so on and so forth. The songs on this album are very long, the shortest being a 2 minute interlude ("The Sky Suspended"), and the longest being a near 18 minute monster (awesomely titled "Warren of Snares").

While the album carries a mostly heavy, almost doom-metal like atmosphere, there are some entirely soft songs on here too. "Simulacrum" is a lengthy 6 minute intro and is probably my least favorite of the album - it drags on for far too long and does not give a good idea of what the rest of the tracks will sound like. "The Sky Suspended" is another soft track, which is basically just a preparation for "Warren of Snares", and it doesn't do much to the album other than tensing the listener up for the grande finale.

My favorite track on here is "Woundwort". It starts off a little iffy at first, but soon becomes awesome and doesn't let up - full of massive riffs (13:44), simple but catchy drum beats, and some really good clean parts (3:27), with the vocalist screaming to his fullest.

Also, about the vocals - they are screams like I mentioned, a dry, raspy growl which makes it even more hardcore-ish. Many people might hate these vocals, but I personally love them. They sound desperate, anguished and with feeling, and they fit the music, especially during the heavy parts.

So what do we have here? We have a very, very good post-hardcore album with tinges of doom metal and heavy doses of post-rock, and will most likely appeal to fans of non metal heads and metalheads alike. Reccommended for fans of Neurosis, Isis, Rosetta and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.