On almost every single occasion that I talk about anything in music when it comes to psychedelia, I somehow find myself referring to some choice favorites of mine like My Sleeping Karma, Zaum, or Elder just for a frame of reference. But, there’s practically always one band that I find myself leaving out for no real good reason: Ethereal Riffian. By all accounts, they are a band that brings psychedelic elements on par with the aforementioned groups and I’ve been dying for new material ever since their impressive EP from 2016, and they have delivered something that’s excellent from every angle.

What I really enjoy about Ethereal Riffian is how they claim to want to make music that is all but unconventional and stuff that can expand the listener’s perception of music itself. That all sounds well and good as it easily drew me in before I ever first heard a note from them, and Ethereal Riffian has carved out a nice home for themselves where the psychedelic worlds of both doom metal and rock phase together so that it makes for an incredibly trippy experience that’s all but gripping; and Ethereal Riffian does nothing but justice for the style as “Legends” is a tour de force of excellence from start to finish. It started off with me thinking “Legends” was going to be more doom-riff centric than I was expecting with the first few tracks (not including the tasty intro) being almost exactly that but with a flair that still made it all feel like an original Ethereal Riffian composition. It’s as the album progresses, though, that Ethereal Riffian really shows us what they’re made of. From hypnotic soundscapes painted with gorgeous colors to a calculated heaviness that comes in astonishing waves that are all but infectious as “Legends” progress with a grand amount of enjoyment that permeates every track, there is virtually no aspect of what this Ukranian act has created that can’t be eaten right up in earnest.

I’ve been actively trying to find something about this album that I didn’t enjoy just to see if I could, and I honestly cannot find a single thing that “Legends” didn’t pull off with a stupendous amount of quality even after hours and hours of listening to this seductive blend of psychedelia that just keeps on giving. Ethereal Riffian has been criminally unknown after all their valiant and interesting efforts that they’ve put out over the years, but it’s with this release alone that Ethereal Riffian has created something that just cannot be missed if you consider yourself any sort of fan of any kind of psychedelia.

“Legends” releases on September 6th via Robustfellow Productions!

LISTEN to Ethereal Riffian on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Ethereal Riffian on Facebook here.