Doomed Confessionary: Brecht (Ethereal Darkness)
Ethereal Darkness from Belgium is an atmospheric melodic death metal band with black and doom metal influences. The music focuses on the dark side of life and the eternal relationship between life and death, loss and love.
After a few singles, the band released their debut full-length album »Smoke And Shadows« in February 2019. Ethereal Darkness is back with a brand new single »The Cycle«, which dropped in November 2024.
Ethereal Darkness consists of Lars (vocals, guitar), Brecht (vocals, guitar), Zjesse (guitar), Mike (bass) and Peter (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
We’re a melodic death metal band from Belgium, and our music is all about exploring the darker sides of life while leaving a faint glimmer of hope in the shadows. Our sound is rooted in melodic death metal, but we love mixing in elements of black, doom, and even the occasional thrash or power metal riff. In the end, we try to tell a story, and whatever best serves the story – whether it’s a haunting melody, a crushing riff, or an unexpected twist – finds its place in our music.
What started five years ago as a one-man project with a critically acclaimed release became a 4-piece band and we started actively playing a lot just before Covid essentially shut down all venues. In the meantime we have focused on writing and to support the more complex sound of our next release, we became a five-piece band: three guitarists (two of us also handle vocals), a bassist, and a drummer. For us, it’s all about creating music that’s heavy, melodic, and full of emotion – music that tells a story and truly connects with people and bringing that story live.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
I think the biggest challenge for most bands, including us, is everything besides the music. The musical stories come relatively easy to us, although we take our time to refine them as this album was written over 3 years) but you also need to be great at marketing, communication, mixing/editing/mastering, design, video editing and/or spend money to hire people that take care of this. While music comes easy, booking concerts, finding labels and promoting our ‘brand’ is a constant struggle.
What can you be most proud of so far?
In 2022, we were incredibly honored to be chosen from hundreds of bands – one of the highest submission years – to win the Alcatraz Bash. This victory earned us a spot on the stage at Alcatraz, the second-largest metal festival in Belgium. For us, Alcatraz isn’t just a festival; it’s a place we hold close to our hearts. While it may not be the biggest, we truly believe it’s the best Belgium has to offer.
That said, our greatest pride right now is the upcoming album. We know what’s coming, and we’re confident it will outshine anything we’ve achieved so far. The response to our latest single, The Cycle, has been overwhelming. Our fans seem to share our excitement—we’ve tripled our listeners since its release. Frankly, each band member has their own favorite tracks from the album, and none of those have even been released yet. Given the reactions so far, we’re confident the full album won’t disappoint. It’s humbling and motivating to see this kind of support, and it’s only the beginning.
What was your biggest regret?
Being shut down by a disease at the moment things started to roll for us. It has been incredibly difficult to build up the momentum again to play live.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
I’d say that Dark Mental Festival 2022 in Denmark stands out as a truly memorable experience for us. Being invited out of the blue to play at a festival showcasing upcoming bands was both unexpected and exciting. Sure, we knew it wasn’t going to be financially practical – driving all the way there meant taking a loss – but we went for it anyway, and we haven’t regretted it for a second. The venue, the people, the organizers’ genuine appreciation for the bands made the whole trip and performance worth it.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
The sheer growth in both the number of bands and their quality. Looking back a decade or two, the metal scene has changed drastically. It used to be relatively easy to book a gig at a local bar, but now even the smallest venues are booked solid for over a year in advance. Yet, despite this surge in activity, we’re also seeing more struggles with low turnouts, which feels oddly contradictory. It’s almost like people are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of bands trying to get their music out there. As a venue owner once put it: “For every band there was 10 years ago, there are now 50. And while the ratio of good bands has improved – from 1 in 20 to maybe 1 in 5 – it’s still a lot for audiences to take in. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out – good music alone has never been enough, but that’s truer now than ever before.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Let’s see – we’ve got our founder, who will always have a soft spot for old In Flames but listens to just about every type of metal and music under the sun. Lately, we’ve been enjoying some of the newer singles from Swallow The Sun. A few of us are really into Harakiri For The Sky and recently also in the new »Coma« album by Gaerea. We also have a love for genre-blending bands like Igorrr, the atmospheric beauty of Alcest, and the dark, gothic elegance of Draconian. Then there’s the less typical metal picks, like »Beyond The Reach Of The Sun« by Anciients, which both singers think is an absolutely brilliant album.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
When you play live, you need to live it. In essence you are conveying emotions, whether these are brutal or gloomy or energetic and uplifting. People are incredible at recognising genuine emotions, therefore, the mindset you are in while playing a concert can impact your audience. Leave your problems, your stress behind you and live the moment.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Power metal with a healthy dose of kitsch, like Beast In Black, or even the blending of electronics with metal, as seen in Master Boot Record or Electric Callboy. Some purists might frown upon that, but we believe imposing musical boundaries on yourself is rarely helpful.
Can you say something more about current music scene in Belgium?
The scene is definitely alive and kicking in Antwerp and Ghent, with very active venues and organizations working hard to give as many bands as possible a stage. New festivals keep popping up, and even bigger ones like Alcatraz are putting in the effort to spotlight local talent instead of only focusing on international acts. It’s a lot of positive development, though it’s balanced out by the fact that fewer people seem to be coming out to see live shows. And, well… we’re guilty of contributing to that ourselves when we lock ourselves indoors to write the best album we can.
Where can we see you live soon (concerts/tours)?
There are a few dates being prepared in February in Belgium, but we have not gone back to full activity yet since we are still juggling work for the release of the album and are currently not residing in the same country. A tour is definitely something we want to do once the album is released in 2025. We are currently talking to booking agencies that could help us push such a tour into realization.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Our primary goal is to craft intricate dark melodic stories with a group of friends and bring them to life on stage. Everything we do revolves around that vision. That said, we’re also focused on pushing the band to the next level. Whether through finding the right label or collaborating with a combination of PR agencies, distribution firms, and bookers, we’re determined to make it happen.
We’ve already taken steps to elevate our sound by adding a third guitarist – a move that’s been a success, not just in terms of the music but also the ideas, energy and atmosphere our new member brings to the band. To further enhance our live performances, we’re planning to team up with a dedicated sound engineer to fully maximize the immersive atmosphere we aim to create. And from there, have fun and go where the journey takes us.
Do you have any special plans for New Year’s Eve?
Maybe one day we should invite an Ethereal Christmass but most of us have no special plans aside from the ordinary.
How can people best support your band?
The most impactful ways to support us are actually free. If you enjoy our music, talk about it, share it, and mention us to venues or organizers. That one recommendation could reach the right person who helps take us to the next level – or, at the very least, it helps the algorithms work in our favor, making it easier for others to discover our music. In today’s world, where we’re all overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information coming at us, the music discovery game is very much an algorithm-driven one.
Beyond that, if you’d like to contribute financially, the best way is to buy our music or merch through platforms like Bandcamp, especially on Bandcamp Fridays when 100% of the proceeds go directly to the band.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Only one final closing message, we love reading your reactions, drop us a message on our new single video »The Cycle« tell us what you think.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well