Aeternam - Disciples of the Unseen
One month from the day this is being written, the masses will be presented with Disciples of the Unseen and all I can say is brace yourself. I've been sitting on this album for a while, trying to think of the best way to describe it. My first inclination was to say Aeternam could, hypothetically, be a hybrid spawn of Nile, Opeth, and Emperor. But Disciples shows that they are more than that. This album is a well rounded power house of catchy riffs, harmonized leads, earth shattering growls, melodic (and very good) singing, and well calculated, dynamic heavy metal. From the first notes of opening track, Ars Almadal, the listener is drawn into the epic, evil world of Aeternum. The album begins with a slow, swelling chant that sounds like a man in a choir in some ancient temple somewhere. The rest of the band comes in and bangs out a chugging, tom filled segue into the blasting, controlled chaos that is the beginning of the next song, Angel Horned. This second song starts with a fever pitched blast beat fleshed out by heavy keyboards and spot on harmonized lead guitar parts, transitioning seamlessly into one of the best riffs on the album, accompanied by the singer's strong, evil growl. From there, it's just measure after measure of punishing, face ripping metal.
But there is an interlude in the madness and the song, Coronation of Seth, serves up an acoustic intro that is only a taste of what is to come in the song Iteru, which is completely acoustic and a tad tribal with some beautiful, melodic singing. The singer can crush your skull with his death metal growl, which is predominantly what he does on the album, but he can also sing really well and does so in all the right places.
The production on Disciples of the Unseen is immaculate. The album is well crafted all the way through, each member displaying an amazing tact and talent with his instrument. Great ambience and synth that is never corny or overbearing is present throughout, pounding drums that never show off but always impress, outstanding guitar work, great vocals... This record is tight and dynamic; you really won't know what to expect from one song to the next, but can rest assured that it will be really fucking good.
Rating System
Thrash Magazine's overall rating system is based on the following criteria. Aeternam received a 9.1 because of the following:
Instrumental Rating (1-30): 28
Vocal Rating (1-30): 27
Lyrical Rating (1-25): 22
Presentation Rating (1-15): 14