Ethereal Soul – Not Bad For a White Boy

Ethereal Soul
Not Bad For a White Boy
1995 (no label)
Liberty, Missouri, USA

Jeremy Walla – Vocals, guitar
Mike Minter – Guitar
Grady Merritt – Bass, BGVs
Tyson Brown – Drums, cattle prod

Side 1:

1. Deified
2. V’Gain
3. Bury You With a Smile
4. Digression
5. Hindsight ‘95

Side 2:

1. There’s No Salvation
2. Loving Dedication
3. Asinine
4. Stars in My Eyes
5. Under

Ethereal Soul is a band name that you might not recognize, but you have heard of them. Their story starts out when some of the members were in a metal band called Abhor Evil. They put out two tapes and got one of their songs on the R.E.X. Demolition II compilation (that is where you have probably heard them). They were going in a heavy funk metal route kind of like Red Hot Chili Peppers. Several labels wanted to sign them, but it was Blonde Vinyl Records that won. Michael Knott just didn’t like the band’s name, so they changed it to Ethereal Soul. They were on their way to record their debut when Knott called them and told them the label had folded. They continued on, even recording a debut CD Sounds Like a Cereal Bowl in 1994. This is where I actually heard them. Jeremy Walla actually joined Dig Hay Zoose (another influence on their sound) as a second guitarist for a tour that I saw DHZ perform on. My friend at the time chatted with Jeremy and decided to buy the Ethereal Soul CD he was also selling. We jammed to it on the long drive home from Dallas to Waco. It was trippy. I regretted not getting a copy. So fast forward to the MySpaxe years. I somehow found Walla online, and he sent me a copy of their CD and this follow-up tape. I love this kind of music, so it was good to hear their other music. Anyways, Walla is an excellent graphic designer now (http://www.jeremywalla.com/) and even put all of the music online for you to stream (http://www.etherealsoul.com/). Anyways, the music is a mixture of DHZ, RHCP, Michael Knott, and several other sounds to make it their own. Turns out they also had a demo called Heck of It that I had not heard also. Cool stuff.

Ethereal Soul – Heck of It

Ethereal Soul
Heck of It
1993? Independent
Liberty, Missouri, USA

Jeremy Walla – Guitars, vocals
Brett Haas – Bass
Tyson Brown – Drums
Jarrod Roark or Mike Minter? – Guitars

1. And She Wept for Her Son
2. Patchwork
3. Cloudy Mind of Mine
4. Focality
5. Zone Zong
6. Nausea
7. Dry
8. Limbo

I wasn’t aware of this release until it appeared on the Ethereal Soul website (where you can listen to it). I don’t know what year it was recorded, or even if it was ever officially released or not, but I would guess it was at least 1993 or so – after they changed names from Abhor Evil, but before their first release Sounds Like a Cereal Bowl. In fact, “Patchwork” and “Zone Zong” are new versions of Abhor Evil songs from Wisconsin Tapes. Also, ”And She Wept for Her Son,” “Cloudy Mind of Mine,” “Focality,” “Nausea,” and “Dry” were re-recorded for Sounds Like a Cereal Bowl. It seems like “Limbo” is the only exclusive song here. I also don’t know if this is before or after Jarrod was out of the band and Mike was in. But their transition from thrash metal to heavy alternative funk metal is complete with this recording. They went on to release Sounds Like a Cereal Bowl in 1994 on CD and Not Bad for a White Boy on tape in 1996.

Abhor Evil – Wisconsin Tapes

Abhor Evil
Wisconsin Tapes
1991? Independent
Liberty, Missouri, USA

Jeremy Walla – Guitars, vocals
Jarrod Roark – Guitars
Brett Haas – Bass
Tyson Brown – Drums

1. Zone Zong
2. U-Boat
3. You’re Not God
4. DRSFD
5. Neuralenema
6. Limbo
7. Mahalath
8. Age of Aquariums
9. Patchwork
10. On the Floor
11. Tyrade

I had not heard of this tape until it was added to the Ethereal Soul website, so it may not have been publicly released. I don’t know what date it was recorded, but I am assuming around 1991 or 1992, as the song “Zone Zong” appeared on the R.E.X. compilation Demo-lition in 1992. They also changed names to Ethereal Soul in 1992 as well. “Mahalath” is a new recording of the same song from the Generic Cover Project. “U-Boat” and “Tyrade” are also not songs as much as short spoken word… things. This album fills in the logical progression from their thrashier roots to their funk metal future as Ethereal Soul. Turns out there was another recording called Heck of It before they released Sounds Like a Cereal Bowl in 1994.

Abhor Evil – Generic Cover Project (aka “2”)

Abhor Evil
Generic Cover Project (aka “2”)
1990 Independent
Liberty, Missouri, USA

Jeremy Walla – Guitars, vocals
Jarrod Roark – Guitars
Brett Haas – Bass
Tyson Brown – Drums

1. Mahalath
2. Element of Mind
3. Nausea
4. Bass Solo
5. Love
6. 6/23/90

This tape was usually referred to as “2” because of the cover above (which I also put together from some eBay listings), but Jeremy Walla recently put this on the Ethereal Soul website as Generic Cover Project – which also fits as well. You can also listen to this tape there. This came out after their self-titled demo, and is also still mostly thrash even as it also continues the evolution towards funk metal. Songs like “Nausea” and “Love” really point forwards towards their later sound. For a while, I had wondered where their song (“Zone Zong”) on the R.E.X. compilation came from as it is not on either of their two demo tapes. But it does appear on the Wisconsin Tapes album on the website, so that answers that mystery.

Abhor Evil – Abhor Evil

Abhor Evil
Abhor Evil (aka “Christian Core”)
1990 Independent
Liberty, Missouri, USA

Jeremy Walla – Guitars, vocals
Jarrod Roark – Guitars
David G. Andersen – Bass
Tyson Brown – Drums

Side 1:

1. Listen and Hear
2. No Way
3. Evil

Side 2:

1. Victory
2. Fight for Your Life
3. Candles in the Night
4. Disco King

So while writing up a review of the last Ethereal Soul tape, I went back to the Ethereal Soul website and found that Jeremy Walla had added all of the band’s old music – including demos from when the band was called Abhor Evil. So while I don’t have this tape, I gave the music a listen. The image above is not a scan of the tape cover, but something I created stitching together individual pictures from an eBay listing that had scans of the front, spine, and back. If anyone has scans of the j-card and tape, let me know. Abhor Evil was part of the Kansas City music scene that also saw bands like Dig Hay Zoose, Hot Pink Turtle, Jeff Scheetz, and many others get their start. This was their first demo, which many people called “Christ Core” because of the spine above, but the band seemed to intend for it to be a self-titled release. They later had a song on a R.E.X. compilation, signed with Blonde Vinyl, and changed names to Ethereal Soul, but I will get to that in later reviews. This tape was followed by one that was called “2” by some, but the website refers to as Generic Cover Project. While they became known for funk metal later, this demo is much more thrash. People probably thought they were incorporating “progressive” elements in the songs here and there, but knowing where they went you can kind of see the DHZ/RHCP influence of those (especially in “Disco King”). But still mostly fast and furious thrash metal.