Ambitious, bold and frequently over the top, Aeon Winds have crafted something that is truly forward thinking with Stormveiled. Pulling from the vast sonic wellspring of bands like Emperor or Limbonic Art there is a certain poetry to this groups take on symphonic black metal. The second album from these Slovak black metal warriors, Stormveiled sees them take significant steps forward from their debut, but doesn't quite push them over the top. So much of this record feels like the group hasn't met their full potential.
I want to be up front and say the songwriting here is phenomenal. The intensity of the record is, from back to front, stunning. The in your face assault starts with the first real track, 'A Cosmic Sky Ablaze' and is tastefully built on for the entire record. This isn't an album that is balls to the wall the entire time though. The synth padding and thoughtful songwriting ensures that there are more than enough moments for reflection and finding glory in the experience the group seeks to create. The issue here though is that the production quite frankly feels very thin, there isn't much bottom end to really sink your teeth into, and that leaves this album feeling lacking.
All that being said, Stormveiled is a dynamic record from a band who are clearly just starting to make good. The sheer breadth of what is being done here and with a very real clarity of vision continually proves to me that Aeon Winds are among the most talented bands in black metal today. A group who very much peddle in raw bombast, Stormveiled is exciting listening for any black metal fan. If they continue to evolve their production and tighten down their songwriting though they could become one of the greats.
Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/AeonWinds/
No comments:
Post a Comment