Band:	Solitude Aeturnus
Album:	Alone
Style:	Doom metal
Release date:	October 11, 2006
Guest review by:	Mindheist

01. Scent Of Death
02. Waiting For The Light
03. Blessed Be The Dead
04. Sightless
05. Upon Within
06. Burning
07. Is There
08. Tomorrows Dead
09. Essence Of Black

There are some albums that deserve a warning sticker, absolutely bad ones and those likely to throw your rage out. Leave the last statement to the pioneering belligerence of US doom metal thunder "Solitude Aeturnus." After signing a world wide deal with the mighty German Massacre Records, in December 1997 they recorded what was to become their masterpiece: "Adagio." Now they've released their 2006 "Alone" album to set the speakers on fire, pummel souls into doom submission and push pounding hell metal, leaving behind them the disastrous first mix of the two demos. "Alone" is about to push their profile to a whole new sound, though not a hell of lot has changed in fact; it's still ultra heavy, slow and with melody, but just much more focused and diverse than previous efforts.

Be sure, any sort of rumors that Solitude Aeturnus are being a noisier, boring Doom metal act is way off the mark. As far as I'm concerned, Solitude Aeturnus are far less boring than Black Hole or Nemesis. They always played sort of melodic doom meets prog-power metal. There's nothing conventional with their song writing and as a result, the wicked and unexpected turns that this album offers up make it a very amazing listen and grandiosely complex great one that you have to get used to first. Sure, it's still not the easiest listening experiences, but subsequent dominating atmospheres will reveal an emotional blazing impact. Variety is probably the word I'm looking for, and as a result, the sound changes, speed tempos, crushing riffs as well as melodic elements hit the atmosphere with greater power and overwhelming intensity. If you then are forced to give the whole madness a name, then you have a problem?

As I mentioned, Massacre Records had the privilege to lead the recording of "Alone," so you know that this album will be like the proverbial bulldozer. Yet, that wasn't easy at all; it's very abrasive while also capturing greater warmth during the lighter, harmonic moments. Thus, the sound is full and massive with all instruments clearly audible in the mix. And as if that was not enough yet, Solitude Aeturnus have yet another killer track (all tracks are killers in fact) on offer, "Is There," a majestic heavy atmospheric, brooding, raging, bark and still cleverly varying its intensity, most probably the best one so far. Give it a try, there are several elements that plunges head long into a killer mid-tempo groove that is very hard to ignore.

Solitude Aeturnus have been a bunch that just would not fit into a common patterns neither to break through commercially nor hailing as a cult band, yet they never let these facts deter them and keep on playing their music, unaffected. My god! They were dust; they were nothing, now they become very impressive. What I'm absolutely sure about is that Alone will rest fresh and carved in my memory.