Ethereal Menace

Infobox Album
Name = Ethereal Menace
Type = Album
Artist = The Awakening


Released = July 1999
Recorded = 1999 Nytesound Studios, Johannesburg, South Africa
Genre = Gothic rock Industrial rock Darkwave Future pop
Length =
Label = Intervention Music Youngside (USA)
Producer = Ashton Nyte
Reviews =
Last album = "Request"
(1997)
This album = "Ethereal Menace"
(1998)
Next album = "The Fourth Seal of Zeen"
(2000)

"Ethereal Menace" is the third album by the South African gothic rock band The Awakening released during July 1999. Incorporating heavy, militant sounds of industrial music and futuristic atmosphere, "Ethereal Menace" started the era of the band's new style which they dub "dark future rock." The album was successful in South Africa and Europe: the singles went for heavier club rotation and a music video for "The March" achieved MTV Europe rotation.

Recording

In November 1998, the drummer AV left The Awakening to pursue his own musical projects. However, two weeks later the guitarist Mark Sprawsen joined the band. All of a sudden the bassist Thaun left to move to United Kingdom in March 1999. This allowed Nyte to rethink the musical direction of The Awakening. Nyte left the previous record label to form his own, Intervention Arts. In order to reach the demands of international marketing, Nyte reissued the two previous The Awakening albums, remastered and with bonustracks and new layouts. The band was joined by drummer Glenn Welman, bassist Andre Liebenberg and keyboardist Catherine Stone. Finally, the album "Ethereal Menace" was written, performed, engineered, and produced by Ashton Nyte, and mastered by Graham Handley at Street 16.

Musically, the album utilizes aggressive, militant drum rhythm and the chunky guitars of industrial rock music. This style was later dubbed as "dark future rock" by Nyte. Despite the stylistic change, "Ethereal Menace" kept the romantic touch of the previous album, and has the echoed clean guitars of the 1990s gothic rock, paining cold, futuristic soundscapes. The song "Sentimental Runaways" differs from other songs as it is a bit faster and more intense in atmosphere. "Sentimental Runaways" and "The March" were released as EPs with several different remix versions. Many fans of the band cite "Sentimental Runaways" as the highlight of the album. The lyrics showcase influences of dark romanticism.

"Ethereal Menace" was released ín July 1999, and achieved an enthusiastic reception: the single "The March" was successful and produced a musicvideo. It was shot by Eban Olivier's Concrete Productions, and the video ended on MTV Europe rotation. Also, the singles "In Etherea" and "Chains" achieved notable club and radio rotation. [cite web |url= http://www.awakening.co.za/ |title= The Awakening |accessdate= 2007-09-23 |author= Nyte, Ashton |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2006|work= Awakening.co.za |publisher= |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

Track listing

#"In Etherea"
#"Naked"
#"Chains"
#"Wasted Miracle"
#"Still the Sun"
#"Sentimental Runaways"
#"Nostalgia"
#"The March (part 1)"
#"The March (part 2)"
#"Dreams on Fire"

References