1) Esoteric is a funeral doom metal band from Birmingham, UK. Formed in July 1992, after the gathering of five individuals, inspired to create dark, innovative music that was evocative to and expressive of the contents of their psyche. The lyrics and music are reflections and transpositions of their thoughts, philosophies, emotions and experiences. The music captures the essence of the word esoteric.
1993 saw the release of "Esoteric Emotions - The Death of Ignorance" - a demo tape containing 82 minutes of hateful - drug influenced tortured doom with a total of 8 tracks. Almost immediately, this brought about an offer from Aesthetic Death to record a full length CD of new material.
In June 1994, Esoteric entered Rich Bitch studios in Birmingham to record 6 tracks (lasting almost 90 minutes). This recording was released as a double CD, titled "Epistemological Despondency". Soon after the recording of this album, Stuart (guitar) and Darren (drums) parted company with the band leaving Greg (vocals), Bryan (bass), Simon and Gordon (guitars). In September of that year, Steve joined Esoteric to complete the guitar section. However, a suitable drummer was yet to be found.
In 1996, Esoteric entered the studio once more to record "The Pernicious Enigma" - Their second double-CD. Nine tracks, lasting a mind-debilitating 115 minutes. "The Pernicious Enigma" proved to be a more complex, sinister, intense and dissonant release, yet it still maintained the Esoteric essence throughout.
October 1997 saw the departure of Simon Philips. Greg (vocals) took the place of Simon on guitar in order to keep the instrumentation the same.
In 1999, "Metamorphogenesis", was unleashed. This release, containing only three tracks, is often described as a Mini-CD in comparison with the first two albums, yet it has a total playing time of nearly 45 minutes. "Metamorphogenesis" shows Esoteric to be more extreme and diverse than ever. Still surviving without a permanent drummer, session drums were recorded courtesy of Keith York.
In May 2002, just one week before Esoteric were due to start recording their fourth album, Bryan (Bass) left the band leaving the three remaining members (Greg, Steve and Gordon) to record the album. This was done at intervals over a period of time spanning across the rest of the year and into 2003, giving the band time to fine-tune the recording and production and also giving time to allow the session musicians (Keith York - Drums and Trevor Lines - Bass) to learn and record their parts. ESOTERIC signed a deal with Season of Mist (Fra) and the album titled "Subconscious Dissolution into the Continuum" was released on June 28th 2004. It contains four songs and lasts 51 minutes. This release sees the band as uncompromising as ever, with a more refined yet totally bombastic production.
The addition of three musicians (keyboards, bass and drums) during the summer of 2003 enabled Esoteric to play live once more. The two successful European tours in 2004 and 2005 took Esoteric to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, UK, Finland and Norway with bands such asWhile Heaven Wept, Skepticism, Reverend Bizarre, Indesinence, Officium Triste, Mourning Beloveth, Thee Plague Of Gentlemen, Pantheist and many others. The addition of the keyboard player allows the band to orchestrate the material better in the live environment, where the use of an extra instrument has become necessary to emulate the complexity of the studio recordings. Mark Bodossian (Bass) and Olivier Goyet (Keyboards) stay with the band to this day but Andy Semmens (drums) parted company in September 2005 following the gigs in Europe.
In February 2007, Joe Fletcher joined on drums to complete the line-up. Steve Peters departed the band in August 2007, and was replaced by Kris Clayton.
Shows during 2007 have so far included the UK, France, Germany and Holland, with bands such as Forgotten Tomb, Anaal Nathrakh, Malasangra, Indesinence and many others.
Esoteric's 5th album, entitled "The Maniacal Vale", has been released on Season of Mist records in June 2008.
The current line-up consists of
Greg Chandler (vocals, guitar)
Mark Bodossian (bass)
Joe Fletcher (drums)
Jim Nolan (guitar)
Official website: www.esotericuk.net
Official Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/esotericuk
2) Esoteric was a Mexican death metal formed in 1993, born from the ashes of the bands Infected and Corrupter.
They released a demo in 1995 titled "Life Is Death".
Allegiance
Esoteric Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I reside alone in the darkness,
Staring out from the blackened walls of my mind.
Tormented through knowledge,unshackled by wisdom,
I attain autonomy.
Bound to no mortal,
Unable to trust in this world built upon lies.
In allegiance with darkness,
The darkness within myself,
The dark force of the earth.
My understanding now vast,
I have devoted years of isolation,
To thought,to knowledge,
So that I may see for myself,
With my own mind!
My empiricist ways have seen power by my own hand!
As the night stalk's revenge,
The moon is culling for blood,so will it be!
This soulless light,
Shall feel the pain of my suffering.
I suffer alone,in the darkness.
My serpentine mind,screams in delight,
As my cries echo through the pathways of my mind,
All goes still,
Rationale complete,
Chaos shatters my sentient thought.
My pain is endless,as will be yours!
I will kill your purity,
I will purge your innocence,
As I walk in disgust,
Into each vacant eye I stare,
My head hangs low in sorrow.
For so few see through the haze of this reality,
So very few attain their desire.
In allegiance......
[Lyrics-Bryan,Greg,1995/96]
[Music-Bryan,1995/96]
The lyrics to Esoteric's song "Allegiance" can be interpreted as the manifesto of a person who has reached a level of knowledge and understanding that exceeds the human capacity to accept the limitations and falsehoods of the world. This person has chosen to reside alone in the darkness of their own mind, where they are tormented by their vast knowledge and are unshackled by wisdom, which has given them autonomy. They are bound to no mortal, and they take what they desire, adhering to no laws. They have become one with the darkness within themselves and the dark force of the earth.
The person's understanding is now vast, and they have devoted years of isolation to thought and knowledge so that they may see for themselves with their own mind. Their empiricist ways have seen power by their own hand, and they will seek revenge on this soulless light, as their suffering has gone unnoticed. They will kill purity and purge innocence, as they walk in disgust, staring into each vacant eye with a head that hangs low in sorrow. Few see through the haze of this reality, and even fewer attain their desire. This person's allegiance is to darkness and the understanding it brings.
Line by Line Meaning
My destitute life I owe to no one.
I don't owe anyone for the miserable life I have.
I reside alone in the darkness,
I live in solitude, engulfed in darkness.
Staring out from the blackened walls of my mind.
I peer through the gloom of my own thoughts.
Tormented through knowledge,unshackled by wisdom,
I am tormented by my understanding, yet liberated by my knowledge.
I attain autonomy.
I achieve independence from external control.
Bound to no mortal,
I am not tied to any human being.
Unable to trust in this world built upon lies.
I cannot rely on a deceitful world.
I take what I desire,I adhere to no laws.
I pursue my wants and pay no attention to laws.
In allegiance with darkness,
I am in alliance with darkness.
The darkness within myself,
I have a dark side within me.
The dark force of the earth.
The power of darkness emanates from the earth.
My understanding now vast,
I have comprehended a great deal.
I have devoted years of isolation,
I have spent a long time in seclusion.
To thought,to knowledge,
I have contemplated and gained knowledge.
So that I may see for myself,
So I can perceive with my own mind.
With my own mind!
By my own intellect!
My empiricist ways have seen power by my own hand!
I have obtained authority by relying on empirical evidence.
As the night stalk's revenge,
The night carries out its vengeance.
The moon is culling for blood,so will it be!
The moon is calling for bloodshed, and it shall occur.
This soulless light,
The light has no spirit or emotions.
Shall feel the pain of my suffering.
It will experience the agony I have.
I suffer alone,in the darkness.
I bear the pain alone, in the obscurity.
My serpentine mind,screams in delight,
My devious mindset enjoys the anguish.
As my cries echo through the pathways of my mind,
As my screams reverberate through my thoughts,
All goes still,
Everything falls silent,
Rationale complete,
Reasoning finished,
Chaos shatters my sentient thought.
Disorder wrecks my conscious mind.
My pain is endless,as will be yours!
My agony is without end, and so will yours be!
I will kill your purity,
I will destroy your innocence,
I will purge your innocence,
I will cleanse you of naivety,
As I walk in disgust,
With contempt, I stroll,
Into each vacant eye I stare,
I gaze into every vacant eye,
My head hangs low in sorrow.
I bow my head in sadness.
For so few see through the haze of this reality,
Several cannot see through the fog of reality,
So very few attain their desire.
So few can achieve what they desire.
In allegiance......
In alliance......
Contributed by Bailey J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lootroq
Esoteric certainly knows how to begin a song. Sick transition after the sample
EmbraceEmptiness
one of the darkest things to be heard, if only it never ended. i love how it all disintergrates into just utter audio hell, like some sort of audio static nightmare.
frankie saenz
its amazing how much the vocals become their own instrument . just pure insanity
Bloodfeast
awesome Scent of a Woman interlude
36a1b4c
purely evil song, every time i listen to it, it makes me just want to hate humanity... it's absolutely great.
Martin Kristensen
I don't know how many times I've listened to this. Probably not healthy to listen to, but so damn amazing.
Monsieur Claude Sac
I'm in the daaahhhkk here!
Rebirth Burning
That's PRICELESS
Johaan Tรถdlicheschwert
7:46