Aeternam - Al Qassam - review
Aeternam - Al Qassam - review
Tracklist
01. Al Qassam02. The Bringer Of Rain
03. Lunar Ceremony
04. Ithyphallic Spirits Of Procreation
05. Palmyra Scriptures [ft. Kobi Farhi]
06. Hanan Pacha
07. Celestial Plains
08. Ascension
09. Poena Universi
A review by
Dream Taster April 29, 2020
Sometimes pictured as halfway between Orphaned Land and Melechesh, and rightfully so, Aeternam shell out their winning recipe of middle-eastern accents framing rhythmic melodic symphonies with a foreground of brutality and a sharp edge. Clearly, the harsh vocals and plethora of incisive guitar riffs provided by Ashraf Loudiy and Maxime Legault are the driving force behind this record. I imagine that for newcomers to Aeternam this will be a nice discovery. For old-timers, it's awesome to see them carry on and not waver one iota.
"Al Qassam" kicks off things in a dynamic fashion and pretty much sets the tone for what you're in for. So yeah, it is the perfect intro to the album. "The Bringer of Rain" reminds us all that they also feature some impressive clean vocals, and that they thrive when melodies get intertwined into a labyrinth of progressive death madness. And just when you start hearing the influence of Orphaned Land on "Lunar Ceremony" and "Ithyphallic Spirits of Procreation", guest starring Kobi Fahri jumps in on the following tune "Palmyra Scriptures" to make your day. "Hanan Pacha" is the perfect crystallization of Aeternam's sound: Ever evolving, symphonic, darkness and light performing a convoluted dance around each other, yet catchy and powerful. Needless to say, the rest of the album is on par with what I just described. My favourite track is the closing number "Poena Universi". I won't tell you why. There, it's your incentive to go listen to at least one song from these guys.
This album, Al Qassam, and this band, Aeternam, are the perfect examples of why you need to widen your musical horizon and sometimes dig deep to find what you are looking for. This is a more mature effort for them. It might lack the freshness of their early albums but makes up for it with the seasoned songwriting and crisper production. So, short and sweet: Go check the hell out of this band if you haven't heard of them yet.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written on 29.04.2020 by
Written on 29.04.2020 by
Bringing you reviews of quality music and interesting questions such as:"A picture is worth a thousand words. How many words is a song worth?"
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Comments
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"symphonic progressive melodic death metal" ... talk about a subgenre...
---- ---------------------------------------------------------- Cthulhu for President! Why settle for the lesser evil?
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Probably my favorite oriental metal album from this year, but also the only one I heard. But then again I didn't listen to Al-Namrood or Seeds Of Iblis yet.
---- Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking One day there will be no heart at all?
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I would have seen/heard this guys for the first time a few weeks back (Ottawa, Canada)...with Wilderun! What a show that would have been. It's funny the bands one doesn't see within their own country. Quebec City is a 5.5 hour drive from here. I will be digging into this band in the days ahead.
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