Sons Of Aeon - Sons Of Aeon review
| Band: | Sons Of Aeon |
| Album: | Sons Of Aeon |
| Style: | Melodic death metal |
| Release date: | January 18, 2013 |
| A review by: | R'Vannith |
01. Faceless
02. Cold Waves
03. Burden
04. Enemy Of The Souls
05. The Centre
06. Havoc & Catharsis
07. Weakness
08. Seeds Of Destruction
09. Wolf Eyes
10. Black Sheep Process
As I'm sure you're well aware lighthouses are constructed for a particular purpose. Above all they serve as beacons for maritime transportation and are used to safely guide ships into port. They also have a characteristic shape and structure and while many may have their own variances in appearance they are all designed in a similar way to fulfill that particular purpose. Finnish melodic death architects Sons Of Aeon have designed themselves a debut album as sturdy as a lighthouse which meets its own purpose in guiding the listener to the shores of melodic and riff induced euphoria.
With guitarists Naukkarinen and Kiviniemi of atmospheric sludge outfit Ghost Brigade and Pasanen of melodic death/doom luminaries Swallow The Sun, the musicianship involved raises expectations. From the first few tracks a finely tempered death metal edge stands well to the fore injected with potent melodies might bring to mind the kind uncompromisingly administered by those sick psychopaths Carcass or Gothenburg greats At The Gates. Tracks like the absolutely vicious album highlight "Cold Waves" pack savage blows as the guitar work gives them bone crunching menace. There are a number of cuts that show determination to place a solid backing behind its highly melodic structure with precise drumwork, such as in the berating blast beats of "Seeds Of Destruction", and a thickly audible bass as its lifeblood. These guys seem keen to unearth a sound of long buried death metal in this volatile set of tracks.
However, while the foundation stones for this lighthouse may be drawn from older bedrock it is still just a lighthouse. It is one of many which light up the coastline and is at once derivative and something of its own. When you familiarise yourself with it, the album will expose its lack of varied structural features and will rarely diverge into anything more than what it is: a well pieced melodic death metal album. No more, no less save its unabashed desire to keep the death central to their melodic metal.
Yet the invigoration which is apparent in its inspirations gives it an uncompromised energy not always captured to the same effect within the genre. Some of this energy is lost in sub-par tracks like the middling "The Centre" or the closing instrumental piece "Black Sheep Process" which attempt to project atmosphere into an album all but bare of such. Much of the death edge is served up in the first few exhilarating tracks before being filtered by more standard fare efforts like "Weakness" or "Wolf Eyes" as the album draws to a conclusion.
No matter how many waves of criticisms of unoriginality and lack of diversity this album encounters those addictive melodic riffs aren't going anywhere. Like a well constructed yet unremarkable lighthouse this album, with its notable architects, fulfills its purpose in an expected fashion. Resistant to the tidal wear of repeated listens it manages to stand fast and assured of itself.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 9 |
 | Written on 14.01.2013 by R'Vannith enjoys music, he's hoping you do too. |
Comments
Comments: 7
Visited by: 275 users
| Risto Wandering Midget Posts: 1115  |
Some addictive melodic riffs is something that would save the album a little, except there's nothing addictive about them. Occasionally it seems they accidentally recorded the same riff twice in different songs. The first rating that came to mind was 6.0 - pre-calculated and boring, though well performed death metal.
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702  |
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| Monolithic ♠♠♠ Posts: 669  |
For those who are interested I have to point out Tommi Kiviniemi's role as SOA's bassist and not as the band's guitarist. As for my thoughts on what is stated in this review: In many ways adding something fresh to a music scene takes a lot of creativity and effort to do so. But there are people who prefer to make music that is faithful to their hearts, and this does not, in any way, result in coming up with something fresh. I don't think they really ever had the intention of gaining acceptance among people who sought something "too fresh and creative." They're not competing, they're not even trying to prove anything so explicitly. As for the review, I find it to be enjoyable. Thanks for the review. 
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099  |
Written by Monolithic on 17.01.2013 at 08:35 Yes Kiviniemi plays the bass, a type of guitar, which would of course make him a guitarist. They may well be playing faithful to their hearts but that doesn't mean we should ignore the fact that it's one of numerous melodeath albums in a similar vein. They're competing by putting out music, that's how it works. A band puts out an album, particular one with already considerably known musicians, and its inevitably going to judged by various criteria such as how it stacks up to its peers as well as on its own merits. But I tried to explain that they have something going for them on this album which I imagine might make their sound more appealing to a particular audience, namely the noticeable and well played out influence of bands with a closer alignment to death metal, such as the hints of Carcass here and there. The album sounds a little fresh at least because of that, hence why I gave it a 7 for originality, I thought they deserved it for making an album which really keeps both the death and melodic aspects in mind.
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| Monolithic ♠♠♠ Posts: 669 |
Written by R'Vannith on 17.01.2013 at 13:10 Well it's better to clarify that by calling him the bass guitarist.  it kinda confuses people.No no no no no I never tried to do that. I never tried to ignore that. I just said there might be an angle where you find something rather positive in their album and listening to it without any discrimination or prejudice. Forgive me but I disagree on the competition part. Here's what I think: By competition I mean that you make music that is more appealing to a wide range of music fans, just to draw their attention and praises to yourself instead of other bands. I hope I've given a clear explanation on what I have in my mind. I've had some brief contact with Wille and he had always been fascinated by the 90's Death Metal. This is also evident in his statement prior to the album's release day. And more thing: I'm totally satisfied with the ratings.
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099 |
Written by Monolithic on 17.01.2013 at 13:21 Sorry to mislead you there Personally I found that death edge gave it not only something with which it can be compared with what's going on the genre nowadays but also makes it very enjoyable on it's own terms. I can definitely see that love for 90's death metal shining through here. Performance, production and songwriting are all strong enough to make it enjoyable, especially to fans of the genre. I can see what you mean about the competition, you explain what you mean well.  I don't think there would be many bands at all with such broad aspirations, hoping that their albums will appeal to fans of all genres. Can't hurt to aim big though.  I agree they are playing the kind of music that they enjoy, not really trying to blaze any new trails of originality if you know what I mean.
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| Monolithic ♠♠♠ Posts: 669 |
And this would leave me speechless. Looking forward to read more reviews written by you.
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