Esoteric

Biography

ESOTERIC 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'.

Current Lineup

History

Slowly but steadily a sound rises, starting upon a deceptively light note, but rapidly turns into a swelling tide of massively droning guitars. Vocals crush in like a tidal wave, breaking with a voice as harsh and resonant as a maelstrom. Streams of sonic psychedelia are constantly intertwining, twisting, melting together, then exploding, forming patterns and dissolving into chaos again. Shapes, visions and scenes tumble into the mind, luring the soul out of the flesh, taking it on an unrelenting musical journey, and the imagination into a seething miasma of melancholy and insanity.

Thus begins an amazing journey beyond ordinary metal conventions into "The Maniacal Vale". ESOTERIC will grant you a devastating sonic ride – a daring exploration into the abyss which lurks in the human mind. The English masters of psychedelic doom are tapping deep into the stream of subconsciousness. Their chosen path makes emotions, thoughts, and personal experiences audible. "The Maniacal Vale" carries much more content than merely the significance of the sublime poetry of its lyrics. Some music still comes with a meaning and ESOTERIC present the perfect example for this seemingly old-fashioned concept. There are moments of tranquillity surrounded by crushing pschedelic heaviness, and each song takes its time to develop. Time is what "The Maniacal Vale" demands of its listeners, as this album refuses to deliver a four minute fix. Yet valuable time is also its reward, as new fascinating details will reveal themselves with each listening.

ESOTERIC steadfastly resist the temptation of making their songs suitable for easy listening or cutting them down to a radio-friendly scale. These seven sinister psychodramas rather grow into epic dimensions and it takes two silver-discs to contain them. It is with obvious passion and patience that "The Maniacal Vale" was conceived. The simply stunning song writing on this album portrays all the experience and maturity of a band which has been in existence since July 1992. Seasoned and honed to perfection by many a line-up change since then, continuity in ESOTERIC has always been kept safe by the core-members - vocalist and guitarist Greg Chandler and guitarist Gordon Bicknell. Few have been able to contribute to their strong vision, but other members than Gordon and Greg have always added to the song-writing. Finally, they have found a stable and dedicated line-up: Mark Bodossian came with his bass in April 2003, drummer Joe Fletcher joined in 2007, and the line-up was completed by Jim Nolan in 2009. Ilia Rodriguez has also been assisting the band as a session live guitarist since early 2009.

Their first demo in 1992 - "Esoteric Emotions - The Death of Ignorance" injected 82 minutes of hateful - drug influenced tortured doom with a total of eight tracks. Their debut "Epistemological Despondency" (1994) was down to only six songs, but was even longer and was released as a double-CD. As the minute count was steadily rising, so were ESOTERIC's musical skills and mastery of their craft. "The Pernicious Enigma" (1996) brought another double-CD with nine tracks, now lasting a mind-debilitating 115 minutes.

While they maintained their essence, this second effort proved to be more complex, sinister, intense and dissonant. At this point, the line-up changes had grown quite numerous and a permanent drummer was missing, which might explain a reduction in productivity, but not quality, as the band unleashed "Metamorphogenesis" (1999), which is often described as a mini-CD, although it has a total playing time of nearly 45 minutes. Having taken their sound to even more extremes, the remaining three members in the band recorded ""Subconscious Dissolution into the Continuum" (2004) as their first release for Season of Mist. Uncompromising as ever, the trio returned with a more refined yet terrifyingly bombastic production.

Two successful European tours in 2004 and 2005 were made possible by the completion of the line-up. ESOTERIC had meanwhile become much more appreciated by the international press and now were conquering ever more fans, while sharing stages with While Heaven Wept, Skepticism, Reverend Bizarre, Officium Triste, Mourning Beloveth and Pantheist to name but a few. With a stable line-up and the critically acclaimed album "The Maniacal Vale" released 2008 saw Esoteric enter perhaps their busiest period. A successful tour throughout Europe in support of the album followed by numerous festival appearences including the Moscow Doom Festival and the Brutal Assault Festival in the Czech Republic saw them reaching an ever wider audience. 2009 saw a continuation of the live schedule - a Finnish mini-tour with Skepticism, a tour in support of the legendary Jarboe, and a number of festival appearances in Portugal, Germany, Ireland, and Great Britain. During this time work was begun on material for the as yet untitled 6th album. In 2010 the band returned to Moscow, and have also performed in the UK, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and an appearance at the prestigious Damnation Festival in Leeds. Work continues on the new album, and the band hope to enter the studio before the end of 2010 to begin recording. The cycle continues.