The proper name for the clip is ‘Robust Rehearsal Vol. II: Bobina Records & Ethereal Riffian,’ and in a nearly edited half-hour, it tells the story of Kiev-based heavy rockers Ethereal Riffian, splicing in live-in-the-studio rehearsal footage with interview snippets covering the five-year history of the band. It extends to the composition of their first two albums, 2011’s Shaman’s Visions and 2014’s Aeonian, and showcases work from their latest offering, the I am.Deathless EP, released in 2016 by Robustfellow Productions, along with the Youniversal Voice (review here) live album. Moving back and forth between shots of them rocking out and talking about their methods and the reasoning behind them, it gives a concise look at the Ukrainian outfit while also plunging into some depth about their themes of spirituality and the perils of ignorance on all levels.

It’s also completely in character for Ethereal Riffian, and by that I mean that the band has proven to be one putting considerable thought and effort into the expressiveness of their work. One can see this even in the packaging in which their latest EP and live album arrive — elaborate, thought-out, individualized even unto its very construction — and in the fact that their second full-length came with a narrative story to complement the music. These steps help distinguish Ethereal Riffian from an increasingly crowded Ukrainian and Eastern European heavy rock scene, but ultimately it needs to be the songwriting and performance carrying their ideas forward to their audience. One obviously gets the best sense of that listening to their records and presumably seeing them play live — I can’t say I’ve done the latter — but to hear the passion of guitarist/vocalist Val Korniev and guitarist Max Yuhimenko, bassist Alex Korniev and drummer Nick Shipovskoi as they explain where they’re coming from as a band goes a long way toward understanding the core drive that seems to bleed into everything they do.

Thanks to Robustfellow and Ethereal Riffian for allowing me to host the premiere of the documentary, which I think tells an interesting story even if you’re not familiar with the band. You’ll find the full video below, followed by its credits.

Please enjoy:

Robust Rehearsal Vol. II, Bobina Records & Ethereal Riffian

ROBUST REHEARSAL vol. II
Bobina Records & Ethereal Riffian

This Episode was shot in Kyiv, 24th October 2015

ROBUSTCREW

PhillO))) – idea, general management, interviewer

VIDEO CREW
Eugene Kredenster – director of photography, interviewer
Artem Isaev – camera operator

BOBINA RECORDS
Dmitry Homulko (aka Bob)
Max Litvinchuk (aka Poops)

ETHEREAL RIFFIAN
Val Korniev – guitar/vocal
Max Yuhimenko – lead guitar
Alex Korniev – bass
Nick Shipovskoi – drums

Sound recording and mixing by Max Poops @ Bobina Records. Video production by Nikita Longinov and Eugene Kredenster. Subtitles by Val Korniev and Julia Kornieva. Final audio-mixing by Max Yuhimenko.

Live performance used in the documentary was shot on the 31st of May, 2015 at MonteRay Live stage by Kirai Gigs team. Sound was mixed by Max Poops at Bobina Records.

Tracks by Ethereal Riffian used in this video (in order of appearance):
“Voice of Reason” (performed at Bobina Records, from “Shaman’s Visions” LP, 2011)
“Thugdam” (performed at Bobina Records, from “Aeonian” LP, 2014)
“Sword of the Deathless (Intro)”/”Beyond” (performed at MonteRay Live Stage on 31st of May 2015, from “I AM. Deathless” EP, 2016 and “Shaman’s Visions” LP 2011)
“Drum of the Deathless” (performed at Bobina Records, from “I AM. Deethless” EP, 2016)
“Dkyil Khor” (used in credits, from “Dkyil Khor” single, 2012)

Robustfellow Prods. 2016
PEACE. LOVE. HEAVINESS.

Ethereal Riffian on Thee Facebooks

Ethereal Riffian on Bandcamp

Robustfellow Productions on Thee Facebooks

Robustfellow Productions on Bandcamp

Tags: Ethereal Riffian, Kiev, Robustfellow Records, Ukraine

This entry was posted on Monday, August 22nd, 2016 at 6:57 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.