Metal Blade is a label that has in all of its years of operation continued to release good solid metal from some of the greatest rising stars in the genre. Since their inception in 1999 Aeon has been one of these bands. They represent some of the greatest and freshest new death metal to hit the scene in a long time. Even if they stay true to the standard death metal formulas their music is still very fresh and interesting. The main secret to Aeons' success has been their intensity and on this album they only ramp up the craziness. So all of the great musicianship and brilliant lyrics are really only pathways for the intensity. That is why Aeons Black is one of the best death metal albums of the year.
The guitar work on this album features at once destructive riffs and emotional solos. There are lots of crazy pinch harmonics here too, and that only adds to the evil. The riffs are very solid, I like how they are both very technical and also very moshable. You get the best of both worlds on this record. I can't imagine not moshing to this album live, yet I also could listen to this album multiple times just to appreciate the technical aspect. In short, this album provides the best of both worlds, Slayer worthy riffs and Revocation-like technicality. It shows the wildness that makes this band so awesome.
The bands rhythm section is also rather exceptional. On this album they create a crushing power that plows unrelentingly through all 15 songs. I really appreciate the bass work in how it provides a gigantic bottom end in songs like Neptune the Mystic. It also adds to the moshing aspect of some of the heavier guitar riffs. The drums tend to stay away from bland battered 16ths yet the playing is still rapid and energetic. When the drum does go into crazy bass drum attacks the music is simply so intense that it defies description. It is vicious and adds to the intensity. Overall this bands rhythm section is unforgivingly brutal and will not allow you any reprieve from the brutality until you get to some of the instrumental Passage to Hell, here you get a slight break before the attack returns, doubly ferocious.
Finally we come onto the vocals. With a great brutal death metal growl Tommy Dahlström manages to up the level of madness. Yet while his growling is very violent the lyrics are actually pretty interesting. The track Blessed features some great lyrics like: "Afraid to speak/This is a man they have told you to trust and do what he wants you too/Violated/To young too know his doings are wrong can’t separate right from wrong". Usually the lyrics point out the dark side of human nature, especially religion. Overall the combination of evil vocals and interesting lyrics help to create a death metal album that stays intense but can also be very intelligent.
In conclusion, Aeons' Black is one of the finest brutal death metal albums of the year. With a seemingly never ending assault this band is as intense as ever. You have to love the craziness that is apparent on this record. From the scorching guitar parts we start to understand the musical fervor of the band. Meanwhile the bass lines provide a positively enormous bottom end that blow through every song. The drumming is pretty technical and adds a lot of rhythmic interest. Finally, the very heavy vocals and dark lyrics are just the icing on the cake to one of the death metal extravaganzas of the year. So go buy Aeons' Black and get your head ripped off!
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