Black Aeons – Entering The Shadows
Black Aeons – Entering The Shadows
Silent Watcher Records
Release Date: 01/11/2024
Running Time: 49:49
Review by Laura Barnes
8/10
If there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I love a Blue Album. Dark Funeral’s “Where Shadows Forever Reign”? Phenomenal. Moonlight Sorcery’s “Piercing Through The Frozen Eternity”? Exquisite. Lorde’s “Melodrama”? Unforgettable. Black Aeons are Germany’s hottest new Black Metal band, and just one glance at their debut album “Entering The Shadows” was enough to convince me that this would be right up my alley. Dark mountains stretch up towards a cloud stricken sky while a hooded figure cradles a skull and ignores the sexy lady posing dramatically at his feet, and the entire world is night-sky blue. To some, this may just be an edgy album cover, but to those who worship at the throne of the many Blue albums that have come before, the cover of “Entering The Shadows” is a promise. It promises ice cold riffage, relentless blast beats, and scene setting so gothic and it would make Edgar Allen Poe pick up his quill and say, “Hang on a minute, I’ve got an idea…”
For the most part, “Entering The Shadows” fulfills its promise. Footstompingly heavy and appropriately broody, this album does exactly what it says on the tin, and it does it superbly. After a chilling piano introduction, Black Aeons begin their voyage in earnest with ‘Dawn of a New Time’. Melodic Black Metal at its most uplifting, this track is an epic introduction to the band as it chronicles a wrath-fuelled journey out of despair. Anyone who has ever achieved a goal out of pure spite is sure to find this one cathartic. From there, Black Aeons ramp up the heaviness to 11 on the next few tracks as they worship at the altar of Black Metal traditions: ‘Let Them Bleed’ combines ear-splitting shredding with eerie spoken word; ‘Ode To Ares’ is also an ode to the invention of tremolo picking; ‘Into Darkness and Decay’ basks in a landscape of shadowy cold. Their sound stays pretty consistent with ‘Shadow of a Dying Light’ being a unique exception. This track sees Black Aeons embrace their sensitive side a little more with pianos and melodies galore. A story of giving up and giving in, this song will no doubt be the accomplice of many a night time brooder. The album reaches its conclusion with a melancholic instrumental piece, courtesy of guitarists Blackheart13 and Jürgen G, and it is a beautiful way to end the journey (although there is a bonus track that pays homage to John McCrae’s World War I poetry).
It is a ballsy move to release a Blue Album this early into your career, but hell, Black Aeons pull it off in style. There’s nothing particularly new on this album, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. It’s good ol’ fashioned Melodic Death Metal – what more could a gal ask for?
‘Into Darkness And Decay’ Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Vive la Mort
02. Dawn of a New Time
03. Beast of Steel
04. Let Them Bleed
05. Relentless Fire
06. Ode to Ares
07. Wolves of the Sea
08. Into Darkness and Decay
09. Shadow of a Dying Light
10. All Life Gone
11. Path To Valhalla
12. We are the Dead (Bonus Track)
LINE-UP:
Blackheart13 – Guitars, Bass, Synth, Vocals
Jürgen G. – Guitars
Phol – Drums (Session)
LINKS:
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