Re-Armed – Ignis Aeternum

Re-Armed – Ignis Aeternum
Black Lion Records
Release Date: 05/06/2020
Running Time: 46:47
Review by Victor Augusto
9/10
I guess I am not the only person in the world that has a dream to visit different countries and learn about their culture, food, and drink. Of course, many people have this dream, but it is very expensive, and a short five-day trip is not enough to understand everything about another country. Maybe it is just my impression, but sometimes I feel like I know more about a country from listening to their music, in my case, imagining local scenes and bands. Here I am talking about Finland and whilst I can’t visit to see its beauty I have, at least, got this specific review and band to give me a good impression of Heavy Metal.
Re-Armed are not a new band considering this is their fourth album and I was impressed by how they managed to include so many elements throughout the 46 minutes of this record. The balance between all of these elements is sublime and it is hard to say which of them is the most prevalent. Of course, Melodic Death Metal is probably the first thing that will appear in the listener’s mind, but influences like the symphonic darkness from Septic Flesh or keyboards that perhaps remind of Cradle Of Filth are present on this album although these elements are not used to exacerbate their sound like some bands use. The technique of the solos and the excellent record production are of a quality that you usually associate with Power or Symphonic Metal bands. This is magnificent considering Re-Armed’s music is nothing like those two genres.
I also have to mention something related to the atmospheric music that comes from the multiple Doom influences contained within the album, like the beautiful ‘The Hollow Lights’. Maybe it is the slow cadence, the clean vocals in this song (cleaner than other songs) and all catchy and lilting melodies that made me feel it. I had this same impression during the slow introduction of ‘Remain Unbounded’ even though this track speeds up, in a perfect Dark Tranquility style, after the intro. All the heaviness returns in ‘Words Left Unsaid’, keeping a good cadence and ‘Voyager’ also seems to rescue the fast spirit from the two first songs on the album, that are perfect to understand the essence of Re-Armed. This time, in ‘Voyager’, the keyboards reminded me of old Progressive Rock players, like Rick Wakeman, for example.
As you can see, Re-Armed are a very complete band. What left me most astonished is how they manage to marry so many incredible and diverse elements, yet the music is still so easy and enjoyable to listen to and digest. I don’t know anything about Finland, but in terms of Metal, I can assure you that the bands that come from there have perfected the art of clear production and of writing melodies and harmonies. I can and will call “Ignis Aeternum” a masterpiece, considering the complexity of the compositions, but which also sound simple at the same time. If you are a fan of good music, you will easily love everything on this album from the first note until the last.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Dive Within
02. Beyond The Horizon
03. Ode To Life
04. Eager To Collapse
05. Resistance
06. The Hollow Lights
07. Remain Unbounded
08. Words Left Unsaid
09. Voyager
10. Built To Last
LINE-UP:
Oskari Niekka – Guitars
Juhana Heinonen – Bass
Iiro Karjalainen – Drums
Allan Välimaa – Guitars
Jouni Matilainen – Lead vocals
LINKS:
www.rearmed.net
www.facebook.com/rearmed
www.twitter.com/ReArmedOfficial
www.instagram.com/rearmedofficial/
www.youtube.com/user/ReArmedOfficial

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