Hear Ether Coven's Crushing Doom-Metal Cover of Björk's "Unravel" | Revolver

Hear Ether Coven's Crushing Doom-Metal Cover of Björk's "Unravel"

Peter Kowlasky: "Björk's songs can go from light and whimsical to absolutely gut wrenching"

When covering a song by an artist as creative and chameleonic as Björk, one must try to conjure something wholly unique and different from the original to do the Icelandic singer and her immensely influential material proper justice. Ether Cothen, with their oppressively heart-heavy doom approach, do just that with their mighty cover of 1997 Homoegenic standout "Unravel." 

"Björk is one of those artists that is so timeless and every record she makes is drastically different from the last," says guitarist-vocalist Peter Kowlasky, "We've been huge fans of her since some of us were kids. Her songs can go from light and whimsical to absolutely gut wrenching and we draw a lot of influence from many of the movements in her music."

ethercoven_press_2019.jpg
Ether Coven, 2019

That weightlessness and whimsy are both present in the OG song, which wavers between lullaby and eulogy with effortless calm. To make it their own, Ether Coven employed bone-grinding vocals and icy, blackened soundscapes set to an punishingly slow beat to draw out the most horrifying, grief-stricken aspects of "Unravel." Listening to the two version back-to-back is a night-and-day experience, but one that lands on a similar sadness by the end. 

Kowlasky continues, "This song in particular is by far my favorite of hers that I've been obsessed with for nearly two decades. We were working on it for our previous record, but didn't get a chance to record it, so here it is. We hope we didn't do too much of a disservice to the translation." 

"Unravel" will appear on Ether Coven's January 10th release, Everything Is Temporary Except Suffering. Stream the cover above today; you can pre-order the album, available in several different formats and bundles, via Century Media, and catch the band on one of their upcoming live dates below. 

Ether Coven tour dates:
01/16 – Raleigh, NC @ The Maywood
01/17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus
01/18 – Trenton, NJ @ The Championship
01/19 – Somerville, MA @ Middle East
01/20 – Coplay, PA @ The Building at Coplay
01/21 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Smiling Moose
01/22 – Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary
01/23 – Cleveland, OH @ The Foundary
01/24 – Chicago, IL @ Reggies Music Joint
01/25 – Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room
01/26 – Denver, CO @ Trailside Saloon
01/27 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
01/28 – Boise, ID @ The Shredder
01/29 – Seattle, WA @ Highline
01/30 – Portland, OR @ Twilight
01/31 – Cupertino, CA @ The X Bar
02/01 – Los Angeles, CA @ Five Star Bar
02/02 – San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick
02/03 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge
02/04 – El Paso, X @ Rockhouse Bar
02/05 – Austin, TX @ 523 Thompson
02/06 – Denton, TX @ J&Js
02/07 – Houston, TX @ Acadia
02/08 – Little Rock, AR @ Vino's
02/09 – New Orleans, LA @ Santos
02/10 – Louisville, KY @ Highlands Taproom*
02/11 – Nashville, TN @ That 70's House
02/12 – Birmingham, AL @ The Nick
02/13 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
02/14 – Daytona, FL @ Tir Na Nog
02/15 – Jacksonville, FL @ Nighthawks