Sulphur Aeon - Gateway To The Antisphere - guest review
Sulphur Aeon - Gateway To The Antisphere - guest review
Tracklist
01. ...To Drown This World02. Devotion To The Cosmic Chaos
03. Titans
04. Calls From Below
05. Abysshex
06. Diluvial Ascension - Gateway To The Antisphere
07. He Is The Gate
08. Seventy Steps
09. Onwards... Towards Kadath!
10. Into The Courts Of Azathoth
11. Conclusion
Guest review by
flightoficarus May 06, 2015
Fans of Behemoth will be familiar with the riffing style. The spoken word intro just cries Nergal, as do the Babylon-worthy guitar leads. Don't take this to mean these two bands sound the same, because they don't. Rather, Sulphur Aeon submerges similar techniques into enough underwater-sounding effects to create a much more Lovecraftian aesthetic. The end result is more in line with Drautran's Throne Of The Depths.
Certain songs immediately grabbed my attention. "Calls From Below" and "Diluvial Ascension..." open with sinister hooks and a groove that commands the listener to nod with the rhythm. There is a sense of progression within their runtimes that is thoroughly attractive. Slow, foreboding drum beats will give way to blasts of double bass and menacing death growls. Gateway To The Antisphere takes the trademark tremolos of black metal and fuses them fantastically with the technical showmanship of death metal. The flashy drum work near the end of "Abysshex" may not be kvlt, but it is a wonder to behold. Each listen led me to find new elements to enjoy.
Unfortunately, for all of its individual successes, Gateway suffers somewhat as an album. There is an apparent sameness in the tracks that leads me to feel berated and bored at times. Between the dense production and relatively steady pacing, very little was able to grip me on a personal level. I am no elite audiophile by any means, but I think this album may be another victim of the "loudness wars." Or at lease a lousy mixing job. Straining my ears during repeat listens revealed some neat little additions that are unfairly drowned in the muddle.
The result is an album that has been at least partially drained of its rightful personality. The only time I felt emotionally involved was on the distinctly more melodious "Conclusion." Sulphur Aeon teases occasionally with similar stripped down, ear-catching moments like the intro to "He Is The Gate," and a segment in the last third of "Onwards...Towards Kadhath!" With mainly slow, melodeath inspired riffs and sparing drums, there is less going on in these times to brickwall the listening experience. However, such opportunities for expansion are abandoned quickly in favor of more impenetrable blasts of tiresome pummeling.
What drew me to the "Diluvial Ascension..." single to begin with is that the track plays with dynamics and range in a way that makes it constantly engaging. There are ups and downs, highs and lows. The listener is provided enough variety of pace, volume, and melody to truly absorb and appreciate the individual pieces of the puzzle. This is something that Gateway To The Antisphere lacks as a whole, and is a problem that similarly plagued the band's debut. That being said, this sophomore effort shows enough growth in both musicianship and songwriting to keep this group on your radar - or more appropriately, sonar - in the future. I think that Sulphur Aeon has what it takes to be a top-tier band; they just need to be a bit more adventurous in their music and advantageous in their production.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 6 |
Written by flightoficarus | May 06, 2015
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
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Well this album's been getting a lot of hype lately and as a result I was somewhat hesitant to check it out. From what you said in that fourth paragraph, I could end up really end up disliking this, as I've never cared for albums where all the tracks blend together and it's very difficult to tell which one you're even on. I think it's something that works better for drone and psychedelic music, where albums are basically meant to blur together into a massive sonic ritual anyway, than for music like this. Worth an investigation though, at the very least. Good review.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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Posts: 1127 Written by Auntie Sahar on 07.05.2015 at 16:23 Thanks. I will say that after a few listens the tracks differentiated a bit more, but there is definitely a heavy core element. And like I said, that paired with the dense production led to most of the lost points. Still definitely worth checking out. I am considering buying it, actually. Good comfort food, but comfort food nonetheless.
---- Daily underground metal recommendations at Metal Trenches. Watch metal content on the Metal Trenches YouTube Channel.
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Posts: 6212 Quote: This is so true. Also, it's very true about so many death metal albums.
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