### Aeon: Path of fire

#### 11/05/10 || Lord K Philipson

Aeon’s underrated as fuck. Death metal giants such as Cannibal Corpse praise their veiny cocks out of my Swedish colleagues and still they never seem to get the goddamn muthafucken exposure they so rightfully deserve. What is the problem, and how do we fucken fix it? We are 3 full-lengths into their career and I believe it’s about time someone makes sure a remedy to their non-existing global success is found.

God-fucken-damnit, it pisses me the fuuuuuck off!

Aeon seriously take a nice little piss on most of the competition out there when it comes to this version of death metal. While not as überly (word of the month) technical as Swedish fuckos Soreption or Douchehammed and his Necrophagist, Aeon ‘s on another level with their shit. Or better yet – a different level of technical extravaganza. All 3 mentioned bands are extremely talented and frighteningly good – but they are all having their “own” sound.

Aeon’s not giving (much of a) a fuck about flashy arpeggio-fellatio bullshit; their intricate guitarwork is something else – mostly depending on ballsy and crunching (death metal chuggah-chuggah?) riffs that pretty much go everywhere with some nice solos spicing things up. Whoever’s thinking up these riffs isn’t all sane, and whoever remembers them fits in the same category. I guess being drunk isn’t recommended if you wanna nail this crap on stage or in the studio. Yes, the musicianship is impressive, to say the least.

I know the guys had to go thru a bunch of mixes and masterings before settling for the one I am listening to (which, since I am fucken über-cool, is an advance copy). It’s safe to say they have succeeded in getting a bit of a different production compared to the rest of the crap being released today. There’s more “life” to “Path of fire” than one would expect (especially if you have “Bleeding the false” in mind, haha). It’s a punchy production, maybe lacking a little treble but in the end coming across as easy on the ears with a brutal yet clear guitar sound. Can’t say the bass is too dominant, but that’s usually how it is (oh, that reminds me; I have not listed bassist Marcus Edvardsson in the credits below since he’s not playing on the album as he joined Aeon during the recording).

Anyways – back to the production…

It’s a refreshing piece of studio work and not even Nils’ usually annoying tom sound is present. You can be oh-so satisfied with the outcome, kids. It’s a breath of fresh air actually, and alot of bands should take notes (or just pay Eric Rutan to mix your shitty recording since he’s responsible for “Path of fire”). Like Borat would say: very nice.

Tommy always sported a brutal fucken growl and he’s really handing us another great effort here, belching out his “- Hello, I am 7 years old and write fantastically satanic and generic” lyrics. That’s a huge part of Aeon’s charm. Think Deicide-style, only not that bad. And just like Deicide, Aeon’s using the high pitched/low pitched vocals dubs, something that is always sounding great in death metal if it’s not overused. One of Tommy’s strongest things is the fact that he is fucken able to growl and have the listener hear what he’s growling. He’s pretty much crystal clear. How many growlers can proudly state that about themselves? By the way, “Total Kristus Inversus” is runner-up for best song title of 2010. If I start a new band one day, that’s our moniker.

I mentioned drummer Nils briefly some paragraphs up… If Aeon’s one of the most underrated bands in the death metal scene, Nils has to be the most underrated drummer in the same genre. It’s a fucken miracle this guy is not hailed as one of the best. “Path of fire” is yet another display of his insane technique and skills. And once Aeon managed to get that hideous tom sound out of the way it’s also pleasant to listen to him instead of just being blinded by his extra-ordinary technique. I don’t think he really fits in Dark Funeral, replacing Matte Modin is no easy task if it’s even possible, but in Aeon he really shines. Death metal is Nils’ forte.

Not much more to say about the guys’ performances here, it should be very fucken obvious that these fuckos are veterans and do execute their stuff as such. Nothing is left to chance.

“Path or fire” is another excellent piece of technical death metal (with a great cover created by cover-creating-hating guitarist Dlimi), performed by one of the most talented bands this country (and prolly this world) can offer. It’s released later this month, so go BUY it and support Aeon. Help them to get the buzz going. “Path of fire” deserves it (together with their astonishing back catalogue).

Will this album be their “break”, finally? I have no fucken idea, with Aeon’s luck – probably not.

And it’s unfair as fuck.

- Information
- Released: 2010
- Label: Metal Blade
- Website: www.aeon666.com
- Band
- Tommy Dahlström: vocals
- Daniel Dlimi: guitar, bass
- Zeb Nilsson: guitar, bass
- Nils Fjellström: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Forgiveness Denied
- 02. Kill Them All
- 03. Inheritance
- 04. Abomination To God
- 05. Total Kristus Inversus
- 06. Of Fire
- 07. I Will Burn
- 08. Suffer The Soul
- 09. The Sacrament
- 10. Liar In The Name Of God
- 11. God Of War