Being new to Esoteric, when I ripped open the little promo pack from Seasons of the Mist I was intrigued but also a little scared. Seasons of the Mist have put out some amazing records such as Arcturus-Sideshow Symphonies, the new Cynic (ok it hasn’t come out but it WILL be classic!), …And Oceans-The Symmetry of I, but their artists always tend to be on the weirder side of metal creating a sort of love-em or hate-em relationship to the bands and the label. Anyhow, when I finally got to listen to Maniacal Vale I realized one thing: it is a massive album. That is to say that every single characteristic of the album is describable only with the adjective “massive”. Esoteric have always set themselves aside from other funeral doom, incorporating elements of psychedelic 70’s rock, snail paced Voivod-ic dissonances and even Emperor-esque keyboards. These particularly unique elements come across so fluidly and naturally in Maniacal Vale, and that is what makes it such an entertaining listen.

“Circle”, the opener, starts out with an odd almost distorted post-folk-ish riff that as sad is it is intriguing, but before long it opens out into crushing monolithic funeral doom. As soon as that first doom riff kicks in you realize what I mean when I say massive. The guitars, the drums, the vocals, the bass all collectively punch hard enough to bring the clouds tumbling out of the sky. When you reach the end of “Circle” (at a whopping 20:45!!! Told you it was massive!) it is hard to imagine what more they could do. But the second track “Beneath This Face” is yet another kick in the face, now incorporating mind-melding tempo shifts, breaks and actually fast parts (didn’t know that existed in Funeral Doom). The ironically named “Quickening” is yet another pleasant surprise in which the band capitalize on their ability to create some of the most epic and tragic music since Asunder’s Works Will Come Undone (for those of you unfamiliar with this album, buy it, it is quintessential funeral doom), and that is saying a lot. Closer “Caucus Of Mind” brings to mind a twisted speeding perversion of old UK doom, then transforms into cascading doom/thrash.

Needless to say Esoteric are crushing, eclectic and on the cutting edge of metal. The Maniacal Vale sleeps on knife’s edge pushing the envelope of experimental funeral doom and is, to say the least, a must listen album.