Aeon: God Ends Here

Remember 2012? It was supposed to the year the world ended, but nothing much actually happened. For those who craved a Hollywood version of the prophesied end, there was that movie called 2012, but it came out in 2009 and had already taken advantage of our popular fears well before the actual year bothered to show up.

2012 was a good year for Aeon. They released their magisterial album Aeons Black and strengthened their already strong reputation as an essential death metal act both on vinyl and on the road. I had the chance to see them when they came through Salt Lake City ,and I thought they were awesome. Sadly, the band did not release another full-length until Fall 2021, nearly 10 years since the last release. According to the band, the reason for the delay was due to finding a drummer that could settle in with the band. Fortunately, the guys found Janne Jaloma, a killer player who makes his recording debut with the band on this release. Joining him are Tommy Dahlström (vocals), Zeb Nilsson (guitars), Daniel Dlimi (guitars), and Tony Östman (bass). Östman joined the band in 2013 but is making his recorded debut with the band only now. Dlimi, who left the band in 2013, returned in 2019 and his talents are also on full display here.

If you look at the track listing, or even just the cover art, you’ll catch on quickly that this is a very bleak album. Most of the songs take up a despairing view of humankind and our aspirations for transcendence. That theme isn’t very surprising for a death metal band, but Aeon approaches it with the kind of power, precision, and bombast we expect. In fact, most of the album M is a chugging juggernaut that lays waste to everything that gets in the way. And then there are those moments when things slow down while strings and a choir give us a chance to breathe and to gain our bearings. Of all these pauses, I liked “Orpheus Indu Inferis� and “Into the Void� the most. The latter was especially soothing, perhaps even beautiful.

For the heavier stuff, I’d recommend the chugging goodness of “Church of Horror� or the raw power of “Just One Kill.� But don’t stop with those. Any of the other heavy tracks are worth a listen and I think you’ll enjoy them as much as I did.

I don’t want to wait ten more years for another album from these guys. Fortunately, the quality of this album made it worth waiting for. Now let’s hope the band can take to the road without getting sidelined by COVID.

Track Listing:
1. The Nihilist
. Liar’s Den
3. Let it Burn
4. Orpheus Indu Inferis
5. Church of Horror
6. Deny Them Eternity
7. Forsaker
8. Into the Void
9. God Ends Here
10. Severed
11. Just One Kill
12. Mephistopheles
13. Let the Torturing Begin
14. Despise the Cross
15. Overture: Magnum Reginae
16. Queen of Lies

Added: January 27th 2022
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 959
Language: english

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