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".
Morphia
Esoteric Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Breathes through the sullen mist.
Transparent winds,
Ease these age-old wounds.
As stale thoughts disappear,
Through Morpheus pathways.
I am in wake but dreaming.
This warmth annuls,
As time drew slowly upon this wretch of life.
Weary sighs of condolence never did urge with zest,
The fire within hands made to rest.
Swallow me within sin,
This blood flows free through my veins.
Procure my will through lascivious rite.
Delving subliminal realms,
As lust invites me to stay,
Engulfed within flesh.
Casting gaze at the puppets,
Acting out their play.
Their slightly wooden frames,
Stretched and splintered by their masters.
Crawling beneath their minds' eye.
Those whom follow, reflect,
And do not become.
Not to be...Not to be...
Their words waste my time here,
With their fragrantless tones.
A veil to distract those whom wouldst live.
To create,
Not to serve.
I walk amongst the shadows of the dead,
Thoughts bleeding into the ether.
Into endless night.
The opening segment of Esoteric's Morphia is an ode to approaching silence. The ominous presence of the sullen mist combined with the transparency of the winds creates a surreal atmosphere in which the weight of age-old wounds is mitigated. Stale thoughts disappear through the pathways of Morpheus as the singer proclaims being in a state of wake and dreaming. It's a moment of pure introspection where the transparent winds do not just soothe the wounds, but ease them through the subliminal realms of the self.
The second half of the song brings forth a shift in tone as the singer's contemplation moves towards darker territories. The warmth that made the wounds bearable and the dreams coherent are annulled as time drew slowly towards the gradual decay of the self. The fire within hands, made to rest, sighs with weariness and condolence but never with zest. The verses shift towards a state of sinfulness as the singer calls to be swallowed within sin and have his will procured through lascivious rite. Lust invites the singer to delve within the subliminal realms, to be engulfed within flesh, where he casts his gaze upon the puppets - wooden frames stretched and splintered by their masters. The singer has no interest in becoming like them, in following their steps and do not become. Instead, the words that speak of distraction fail to impress the singer, as they waste his time and lead to nowhere. Instead, the singer walks among the shadows of the dead, thoughts bleeding into the ether, into the endless night.
Line by Line Meaning
This air of silence,
The stillness in the surrounding is evident and present.
Breathes through the sullen mist.
The mist adds to the solemnity and seriousness of the atmosphere.
Transparent winds,
The purity and clarity of the wind.
Ease these age-old wounds.
The wind provides comfort and relief to the wounds that have been present for a long time.
As stale thoughts disappear,
As old and unproductive thoughts fade away.
Through Morpheus pathways.
Thanks to the dream state and its power to shift focus.
I am in wake but dreaming.
Being awake, but lost in thoughts.
This warmth annuls,
This warmth cancels, cease to exist.
As time drew slowly upon this wretch of life.
A slow reminder of the inevitable progress of time and its impact.
Weary sighs of condolence never did urge with zest,
A half-hearted and indifferent response to sorrow.
The fire within hands made to rest.
The passion and enthusiasm has been muted and ignored for too long.
Swallow me within sin,
Become one with indulgence and darkness.
This blood flows free through my veins.
The freedom that comes with succumbing to impulse and desire.
Procure my will through lascivious rite.
Gaining control through pleasure seeking activities.
Delving subliminal realms,
Exploring hidden layers of the mind.
As lust invites me to stay,
As temptation entices.
Engulfed within flesh.
Trapped within physical existence.
Casting gaze at the puppets,
Looking at the society and its members.
Acting out their play.
Following the script that has been set by societal expectations.
Their slightly wooden frames,
The indications of how controlled and limited they are.
Stretched and splintered by their masters.
Pushed and pulled by the powerful and influential.
Crawling beneath their minds' eye.
Sneaking past their normal thinking patterns and diving to the deeper, less visible thoughts.
Those whom follow, reflect,
The ones who blindly follow others illustrate those they trail.
And do not become.
And don't allow themselves to grow or evolve.
Not to be...Not to be...
Not existing, not reaching the ultimate goal.
Their words waste my time here,
Their verbalizations and conversations are unimportant and irrelevant.
With their fragrantless tones.
Separate them from the significant and honest voices.
A veil to distract those whom wouldst live.
A barrier to circumvent for individuals who yearn true life fulfillment.
To create,
The urge to make something unique.
Not to serve.
Rather than working for othersβ benefit individually motivated ambitions are more important.
I walk amongst the shadows of the dead,
I move past darkness and hopelessness.
Thoughts bleeding into the ether.
Ideas and notions scattering and becoming lost in the universe.
Into endless night.
Through the darkness, with no end in sight.
Lyrics Β© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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