There is little doubting the ability of yet another Swedish death metal act whose previous two albums were brutalising death metal outings showcasing vicious riffs yet with plenty of melody. I suspect however that many readers have not paid them any attention or even heard of them for that matter (unless you saw them supporting Cannibal Corpse a couple of years ago) such has been the glut of quality death metal over the last five years or so.
This was recorded some time last year but has only just made an appearance and immediately it appears the band is continuing their lyrical antichristian tirade given the song titles. This album starts violently with a superb double bass kick blast that opens up “Forgiveness Denied” and immediately you’ll have Nile imagery in your head such is the ferocious speed that this band delivers. Atypically the band is outside of the familiar dirty Swedish style of death metal as these guys prefer a US style hammering. It would be amiss of me not to clarify the Nile position as Aeon’s music is less complex than the Egyptologists and more akin to their similar speed and dense sound.
“Kill Them All” is as unrelenting as it gets with Cannibal Corpse appearing on the death metal radar and some Immolation like sludge for a treacle like atmosphere. The double bass sections are as catchy as you’d anticipate and vital for this style of death metal to avoid the songs becoming a blurring technical mess. More Cannibal starts off “Inheritance” as the vocals veer from beast like growls to semi-barked snarls. The USDM influences are rampant on this album as Deicide creeps into “Abomination Of God” and a song title that fits with the Deicide like manifesto.
I adored the groove of “I Will Burn” with its Corpsegrinder like vocal bellow and the downright infectious kick beat that is employed. The brutal and intensely heavy “Suffer The Soul” has an excellent riff break that has a bouncy feel (no not like deathcore at all) as the album returns to Cannibal Corpse worship. It is very obvious that Nils Fjellstrom loves his thunderous double bass drumming sections and indeed they bolster each song as the guy is on cruise control during “The Sacrament”. There is also little doubt that Aeon will be plagued by Cannibal Corpse and Deicide comparisons but this should only make you want to check them out more when you have such crushingly exquisite tunes such as “Liar In The Name Of God” and “God Of War” to close this absolute monster of an album. Easily as potent as the new Immolation album which should give you enough evidence to make you check this out.
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