12th May 2025

Review: “Ethereal” by Blaxem

Hailing from Santiago Chile Blaxem are a five piece Tech-Metal act with a reputation for DJent based groove and rose to prominence with their 2017 debut album “Who Cares“. A product of five years honing their craft, the album laid the foundation for numerous shows in South America as the outfit earned their stripes on the road with Entrospect, Assylum and Infecto. Taking a different route to remain the band made the decision to waterfall release seven singles over a four year period starting in 2021 with drummer Robert Unger Burmeister and guitarist Guillermo Malatesta also playing their parts in All Tomorrows and Scars of Oblivion respectively at the same time. That caught the attention of Eclipse Records and a partnership was agreed upon the release their next record “Ethereal” and they claim that overarching themes of personal honesty, about never losing the soul of a song nor bargaining away our souls for the sale are held within…

The Matrix is alive with the sound of music as the thoughts of our lord and master Buster Oleholm have penetrated the minds of the innocent and “Grey Summit” is born. Crushing DJent fuelled riffs flow from the fretboards of Daniel Hidalgo and Guillermo Malatesta with verve and swagger, Hidalgo’s savage ear splitting vocals tearing their way through the cranium with a bloodlust. The energy the five piece generate with this bouncy and yet fierce opening cut is a warning that something wicked this way comes, each thunderous moment of jackhammer footwork from Burmeister registering as seismic activity. Haunting electronic sounds pierce the veil as “Miscellaneous” rears its ugly head, Hidalgo demonstrating he can do clean vocals fleetingly before return a return to his usual fearsome bark and bite. The addition of those clean parts is nice touch, the band not losing any of their momentum by incorporating them. Extended instrumental passages allow the five piece to experiment with a few skull crushing rhythms before a face melting solo screams from its missile housing and destroys its intended target courtesy of Malatesta. At that point there becomes no doubt that this group have serious talent and can cover all bases as and when required.

A sense of melancholia soaks into the introduction of “Ethereal” before the firestorm begins once more, the non stop DJent groove, rumbling bass and pummelling percussion an absolute pleasure. Embellishments in fleeting electronics and clean vocals are a nice touch once more and at points you may find yourself wondering where this band have been hiding all these years. They could have played Tech-Fest at any point over the past decade and not been out of place. Taking a moment to breathe “Images of Tomorrow” reaches for the acoustic guitars and orchestral embellishments to create a rich and yet dark soundscape for the first 60 seconds or so. The step-up into harsher sonic abrasions isn’t as obvious in this one as it is in the work of others, the clean vocals and orchestrations offering the continuity required to do so. A technical solo that soars with vibrancy is utterly spellbinding during a foretelling of a bleak future and Blaxem nail the atmosphere perfectly. Last but by no means least, “Radiant Abyss” concludes the collection with some almost operatic vocal parts as the guitars bounce around with staccato riff breaks inflicting the damage. The combination gives the cut an almost cosmic feel before another sublime solo elevates everything in stunning fashion. It’s as if the band have purposefully saved the best until last and the only issue one could have with this record is that their simply isn’t enough of it! [8/10]

Track Listing