Band:	Altered Aeon
Album:	Dispiritism
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	November 2004

01. Dispirited Chambers
02. The Resonance Of Form In Transition
03. Desensitizer
04. Behind The Lodge Door
05. Patriots Of Sin (Aeternum Essentia)
06. Carpe Noctem
07. Dreamscape Domain
08. Oath To Endure
09. Light Creates Shadows
10. Transcendence Duology

Altered Aeon is a side-project formed in 2001 with members of Theory In Practice, the Swedish technical death metal band. Now don't expect a rip-off, the only thing this new band has in common with TIP is the complex structures of the song. Apart from that, the music is in a melodic death/thrash vein, strongly inspired by Swedish thrash metal. To give you an idea, Altered Aeon's music can be described an At The Gates meets The Haunted meets Nevermore. Sounds good, huh?

Actually it really does. All the songs on Dispiritism are praiseworthy. First the musicianship is really topnotch, as you can expect when you examine the line-up. Every single riff, every single solo displays a stupefying sense of technical musicality. What I mean by that is that unlike a lot of bands that sometimes quell their songs with a show-off way of playing, Altered Aeon manages to keep its music accessible to we lesser mortals. The result is that this album is catchier than I would've expected. The production helps a lot too: it's perfectly done, in the great Swedish tradition.

So, this album starts out with the killer 'Dispirited Chambers', a track that is quite different from the rest, since it is a power thrash song that reminded me of the last era of Nevermore. The great riffing and the good melodies highlight the unique vocal abilities of Kjell Andersson (member of Azotic Reign), whose timbre is really peculiar but fits the whole very well. Some more representative songs can be 'The Resonance Of Form In Transition' and the potential "hit" 'Behind The Lodge Door', a song that would turn a concert room upside down, with its fast tempos and powerful chorus. 'Dreamscape Domain' borrows a lot to Swedish thrash, but probably has the best intro of the album. That was for the thrash part. The rest of the album is melodic death metal with clean vocals, except the violent 'Patriots Of Sin' that features some growls. 'Oath To Endure' and 'Carpe Noctem' have these typical rolling riffs, but Altered Aeon still manages to surprise the listener with some rhythm changes or arpeggios at some unexpected moments. 'Light Creates Shadows' deserves a mention due to the great vocals (again). Another catchy song. The closer 'Transcendence Duology' has a prog approach to it, and really reminds of Theory In Practice. It's a bit of a show-off, with solos every ten seconds, but this is a cool prog/death song.

This review was kind of repetitive, I agree, but that's only because I found Dispiritism so good that eventually I could not find much more to say than: try to get your hands on it. If you like technical death metal, or that you are a fan of Swedish thrash, you certainly won't be disappointed. Altered Aeon is an excellent discovery.

Highlights: Dispirited Chambers, Behind The Lodge Door, Patriots Of Sin, Dreamscape Domain