Fall of Efrafa were a British punk rock band formed in

Brighton, England Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

in 2005. They disbanded in 2009 after completing a trilogy of concept albums— ''Owsla'' (2006), ''Elil'' (2007), and ''Inlé'' (2009) — inspired by the mythology of the 1972 novel ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natura ...

''.

Biography

Originally from

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...

, East Sussex, the quintet was formed with the intention of recording a trilogy of albums, entitled ''The Warren of Snares'', based on an interpretation of the mythology present within the 1972 novel ''

'' by Richard Adams. The trilogy is composed of the albums ''Owsla'', ''Elil'' and ''Inlé'', co-produced by several labels. In the novel, Efrafa is a rabbit colony ruled by a dictator, who oppresses rebels through his elite police, the Owsla. In the context of the bands concept, ''Owsla'' represents the populace around which the story revolves, the Efrafa representing humanity. In the clutches of a theocratic dictatorship, their society is on the brink of collapse. With the encroachment of the Efrafa, an invasive species, this dictatorship turns to blind faith, obedience and punishment for answers. The story records the uprising by those who defy the word of rule and religion, culminating in not only the dethronement of their leader, but a futile charge against the Efrafa. The band presents their political and social ideology, which includes references to animal rights (they all are vegans) and deeply held atheism; they also attack humanity's destructive habits, while analysing their relationship with religion and fight against tyranny. Among their influences, the band cites

Agalloch Agalloch () was an American extreme metal band from Portland, Oregon. Formed in 1995 by frontman John Haughm, they released five full-length albums, four EPs, two singles, one split single, two demos, four compilation albums and one live video ...

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, His Hero Is Gone and

Neurosis Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

. The trilogy is cyclical and runs in reverse; with Owsla representing the climax and eventual rebirth of the story. This is signified by a passage of cello which bookends the trilogy - representing the eventual rise and fall of empires and our inability to learn from past mistakes. The band's first album, Owsla, came out in 2006, alternating the

D-beat D-beat (also known as Discore, kängpunk, Discrust, and crust-beat) is a style of hardcore punk, developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, after whom the genre is named, as well as a drum beat characteristic of this subgenre. D-be ...

of emo crust with the melancholic melody of post-rock, along with some post metal influences. The album title is a word in

lapine language Lapine is a fictional language created by author Richard Adams for his 1972 novel ''Watership Down'', where it is spoken by rabbit characters. The language was again used in Adams' 1996 sequel, '' Tales from Watership Down'', and has appeared i ...

that in the novel corresponds to the elite warriors of the warren, who very often take advantage of their position by abusing their power over other rabbits. In the context of the record, the Owsla is a name bestowed upon all by their despotic leader, in a cynical move to give his people a false sense of empowerment. This record documents the final charge against the Efrafa. The second album, ''Elil'' (in lapine language, "enemy"), released the following year, is divided into 3 songs, all of them over 20 minutes. The music moves through post rock/ post metal passages and a slower more brooding melodic crust, expressing a bleak melancholy atmosphere, progressively taking inspiration from doom metal. The concept continues with a view of the psychology of those within a society fighting religious oppression, both internal and external. The last release, ''Inlé'', came out in 2009. The doom metal frame that was only an influence in the previous works of the band, becomes the predominant genre, creating sonic images of emotion and desolation. The black cover and the album title, featuring ''Inlé'', the black rabbit of death, anticipating the atmosphere of this work divided into 7 melancholic and gloomy tracks. Stylistically, the doom metal and post-rock are the main reference points and replace the speed of

hardcore with introspective melody. The story begins with this record, a society on the brink of self-destruction, a maniacal ruler wielding theocratic ideology, oppressing and abusing, offering nothing in the face of a much greater threat, the encroachment of humanity upon their land. After releasing this album the band parted ways, as their only goal was to release this trilogy. Their discography was later published in a boxset called The Warren of Snares Trilogy. Their last concert was in Brighton, on 5 December 2009.Fall of Efrafa , MySpace.com
/ref> Singer Alex CF later formed a number of concept bands, including Momentum, Light bearer, Anopheli,

Archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consis ...

and Morrow. Guitarists Steve McCusker and Neil Kingsbury went on to start Brighton-based drone rock band Blackstorm (2007-2014) with Kingsbury going on to play in

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as an additional live guitarist in 2013 and for the 20th Anniversary shows for Desertfest in 2015 then bass and guitar for

Earthtone9 Earthtone9 (stylized earthtone9) is an English metal band from Nottingham, England. History Signing to Copro Records in 1998, the band's first major release was the album ''lo-def(inition) discord'', which comprised songs from their three d ...

in 2016 to 2022. In addition to the trilogy they have also produced 3 EPs: a split with Down to Agony (2007), Tharn (a collaboration with Paper Aeroplane) (2008) and The Burial (2009), and a DVD with footage of their only U.S. tour, their final show at Westhill Hall in Brighton, UK on 5 December 2009, and photographs and artwork (non-audio).

Discography

Studio albums

* 2006 – ''Owsla'' (Alerta Antifascista, Behind the Scenes, Deskontento Records, Fight For Your Mind, Symphony of Destruction) * 2007 – ''Elil'' (Alerta Antifascista, Behind the Scenes, Be-Part.Records, Deskontento Records, Fight For Your Mind, Halo of Flies Records, Sound Devastation Records, Symphony of Destruction) * 2009 – ''Inlé'' (Alerta Antifascista, Behind the Scenes, Denovali Records, Halo of Flies Records, Sound Devastation Records)

Splits and EPs

* 2007 – ''Down to Agony / Fall of Efrafa'' split (Alerta Antifascista, Behind the Scenes, Be-Part.Records, Contraszt! Records, Laboratorio 12, Sadness of Noise Records) * 2008 – ''Tharn'' (Sound Devastation Records, Tadpole Records) * 2009 – ''The Burial'' (Tadpole Records)

Compilations

* 2010 – ''The Warren of Snares''

Videography

* 2010 – "The Road"

Members

*Michael Douglas – bass *George Miles – drums *Neil Kingsbury –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

*Alex CF–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

*Steven McCusker – guitar

References

External links

Scheda
Discography {{DEFAULTSORT:Fall of Efrafa Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 English punk rock groups English post-rock groups English doom metal musical groups British crust and d-beat groups British post-hardcore musical groups Post-metal musical groups Sludge metal musical groups Musical groups from Brighton and Hove Denovali Records artists Musical quintets 2005 establishments in England 2009 disestablishments in England