One of the most obscure bands of the greek underground, Ethereal have a history of long breakups, different lineups and few, numbered, cult recordings, all of them on vinyl. DOMINION is their actual first "official" work, if we exclude three recorded demo songs which were to see the light of day in early 1992 in a split LP but the project was shelved.

DOMINION comes in 300 copies and is a detailed introduction to the band's own peculiar unearthly universe. The five songs cover a wider range of sound than may be suspected by watching the photos on the back side and reading the band's short bio included with the vinyl.

The first side opens with "A gathering nocturnal" which is what the listener would expect: slow, with grinding guitars, doom-death hybrid, pointing over to the early works of My Dying Bride. But the greatest influence here is Celtic Frost, whose name appears more than 2-3 times in the band's dedications list and thanks, and Anathema of the CRESTFALLEN EP. The singer, Anton, who also plays synthesizers, performs as if he is the ghost of Anathema's first singer, delivering more than one of his well-established howls and groans in between his distorted vocals. The song is very good and it is one of the rarest and earliest doom-death efforts of the greek scene.

"Beyond eternity" is the first surprise. It is built on keyboards, in fact endless notes of icy, "robotic" synthesizers that create a suitably bleak soundscape. The similar efforts of Burzum are a close relative, yet "Beyond Eternity" has depth and color to its sound, instead of the repetitive loops of Vikernes' compositions.

Side B opens with another doom/death gem, the haunting "Empire of the damned", with its main guitar riff like a jumpover off Black Sabbath's MASTER OF REALITY. More specifically, the riff sounds dangerously close to Iommi's riff on "Into the void", but then again, here it is given its proper treatment and combined with Vangelis' powerful drumming and the crawling rhythm section, the song obtains its own character and definetely wins.

"The fields of emptiness pt.2" (I am not aware of the pt.1 though) is the second surprise, as it is a short yet effective, moody piece totally performed on piano. With cascading notes and shifting melodies often enough to keep things interesting, it is an interesting glimpse on Ethereal's more melodic approach of their claustrophobic, introspective vision.

Finally, the closing "Individual" is the most intriguing song, combining sequencers, synth loops, other digital effects with drum patterns and guitar riffs, all washed together, changing and driving the rhythm and the tempo, creating a very interesting song, similar of which it is hard to find in the greek underground. Heavy guitars over loops, electronic treatments over pounding drums, and the listener never feels bored or unconvinced. It works, and it works great.

I have not located any other Ethereal vinyls, if I do so I will certainly buy them. And this is a conviction that DOMINION gave me. That is enough to demonstrate and confirm about its musical strength and diversity in sound and emotions.