Agrypnie - Aetas Cineris review
Band: | Agrypnie |
Album: | Aetas Cineris |
Style: | Melodic black metal, Post-metal |
Release date: | March 15, 2013 |
A review by: | Windrider |
01. Trümmer / Aetas Cineris
02. Dezember
03. Gnōsis
04. Zurück
05. Kosmos (Alpha)
06. Erwachen
07. Sinnflut
08. Asche
Post black metal can be quite a tough thing for newbies. Depending on your usual taste in music and your not-so-life-long experience it may either resemble Dimmu Borgir or Burzum. Apparently I'm not talking about the French but rather the German scene here, for in France they indeed developed a more independent style. Agrypnie then again is one of the shining acts in Germany and - surprise - the reason I'm writing this. For a new album called Aetas Cineris (translates to Era Of Ashes) is out and worth losing some words about.
The album blends a typical style-based atmosphere and quite unusual brutal sounds. And if I may start with a weak point here, the latter one is the dominating part. It's not that metal isn't supposed to be brutal but the production and the technical aspect of the album often interferes with the black metal structures and ends in an atmosphere one can also experience in death doom releases. Nevertheless, every music is mood music, and when you are in the right mood for this one, there won't be anything fitting better. Take the track "Sinnflut" as an example: If you feel like standing on a huge cliff during a storm, weary and hurt but still strong in will, this song makes perfect sense in both music and lyrics.
Aetas Cineris runs for seventy-seven minutes, which required an extra lengthy CD, anyone who knows a longer album on a single disc be welcome to tell me. The durations of the eight songs don't vary much, all running from eight to eleven and a half minutes. Sure, this is too long for some people, but if you are into it you can sit still and enjoy the album over the whole playing time. The opener "Trümmer / Aetas Cineris" is a really great start into this world and awesome when played live, too. Together with "Gnosis", it marks the heavy side of this record, while on the opposite "Kosmos (Alpha)" and "Asche" stand for atmospheric work only. The other four songs also lean more towards the heavy style. What Agrypnie do better than most other bands is thrilling. Der Unhold as vocalist ensures this with his quite unique singing and a bunch of modern poetic lyrics that reach the listener's mind and subconscious. His band mates as well play their music as good as one could expect, especially the bass works deserve credit, plus its sound might be the most fitting to black metal of all the instruments.
One can say Agrypnie are sitting on the fence here. Post black metal with rare black elements and atmosphere but nevertheless very good music. I know this style contains urban elements but bands should be careful not to go too far away from their roots. I couldn't pick my overall favourite song here for they are all good but when it comes to songwriting terms my choice is "Asche", showing the best melodies and riffs and - yes I say it again - atmosphere.
Rating breakdown
Performance: | 9 |
Songwriting: | 8 |
Originality: | 8 |
Production: | 8 |
Written by Windrider | 06.07.2013
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