Stardust on Cosmic Tapestry

I clearly remember in 2015, when I was a teenager, I saw Mad Max: Fury Road, without knowing anything about the saga or what to expect, and I was completely fascinated from the very first moment. Since then I've seen it countless times, I've seen the behind-the-scenes footage, I've read lots of articles and essays about it. And with all the things I love about this film there is one in particular that simply elevates all the others, the passion put into the project. It is a film that by watching it once you can simply come to appreciate the love and commitment put into it by a number of people who put their souls into it, and that is something that art can transmit. Well, that same passion is what AeonSphere transmits to me in their debut album, a sincere demonstration of love for music, creating something of their own while at the same time paying homage to clear influences resulting in one of the most touching and emotionally charged works of this year.

If we have to talk about AeonSphere's music we have to talk about epicness, in the purest sense of the word, every song on the album are monumental compositions overloaded with raw energy, with speedy and vertiginous guitars relentless in every assault, and they maintain an impressive cadence almost permanently, except for the brief moments where a build up is encouraged or there is a short moment of some other solo instrument (usually keyboards). And here highlights one of the great strengths of the work, the music of this project has a clear tendency, and eventually ends up being somewhat monochromatic, but all the compositions feel really differentiated from each other, there is really a titanic work at the compositional level to achieve that variety and memorability in songs that range between 6 and 7 minutes using a limited number of resources. Each track can stand out for a particular approach, whether it's the speed of ‘Soul Forged Destiny’, the emotionality of ‘Tranquillity in Darkness’ or the memorability of the epic chorus of ‘The Stygian Splendour’, there is always something that stands out.

But there are especially two features that, for me, elevate this work. First of all there are the keyboards, these are incredible because of the use they are given, they are able to provide the songs with clearly differentiated atmospheres, on the one hand we have the wintery and magical touch, almost Christmas sound even, a total preciosist aura that invades some sections and clashes in a frontal way with the extreme tone of the album, causing a great duality. On the other side are the keyboards that delve into a space ambience, these are more ethereal and give the compositions a more epic character by immersing you in a space odyssey. In addition, the keyboards are omnipresent throughout the long play, and are the ones that give character to each of the songs, especially working as a subtle base for the powerful guitars and emotional vocals. And speaking of the vocals, this is the other feature that elevates the album, the harsh vocals are fine, they do their job, but the clean vocals? Oh my... I love them so much that I don't know if I have the words for it. They are not technically the best, but they have character, and besides that, they transmit, they transmit a lot. It's true that I know beforehand that this album has been 14 years in the making, that's why I've talked about it as a passion project, because it's obvious that it is, but I wouldn't need to know that to feel it, in the same way I felt it when watching Mad Max: Fury Road, every delivery of Tamas Alföldi in his clean vocals really evokes that passion and that inner fire of putting all your soul and being into something you're really passionate about. The whole piece has that emotional character but those clean vocals are what elevate it all, and I admit that they have touched me, brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes, so, Tamas Alföldi, if you read this, know that your art has moved me.

Now, I could start cherrypicking and talk about how the length can be a bit excessive because the monochromatic tone of the songs can make the listening too long if you're not in the mood, or about how I don't like the samples of the space communications even though I understand that it's part of the concept of the album. But that's what it would be, cherrypicking, looking for details in an album that, although not absolutely perfect in all its parts, has qualities so strong that they overshadow any of those small things. It's beautiful, epic, emotional and made with love and true passion, what more do you need?

Some blueprints are so elaborate, some designs so utterly vast, that it can end up taking more than a decade for the actual structure to come to fruition. Often such masterworks are the handiwork of seasoned veterans in the professional field whom put forth their regular product while honing their coup de grace on the backburner, but occasionally a fold of amateurs will just seemingly come from out of nowhere and offer up a mighty palace to rival the classics in its respective genre. Such is the story of Finnish symphonic power metal duo AeonSphere, having begun their collaboration at the dawn of the 2010s and finally unleashing their staggering debut Stardust On Cosmic Tapestry nearly 15 years later, a towering one hour plus slough befitting its lofty title.

Suffice it to say, the many years of toil that went into composing, arranging and recording this colossal undertaking are justifiable, particularly given that it was an entirely self-produced affair. Drawing heavily upon the established template put forth throughout the 2000s by the likes of Wintersun, Ensiferum, Children Of Bodom, Eternal Tears Of Sorrow, Kalmah and several others, this is the sort of all-encompassing manifesto of an opus that may as well have the entire Finnish power and melodic death metal scene within it. The combined talents of project mastermind and multi-instrumentalist Tamas Alföldi, as well as that of guitarist/bassist Pekka Marttinen culminate in a cacophony of colorful melodies, shredding technical guitar and bass lines, relentlessly blasting and rapid fire drumming, and a dense sea of orchestrated bombast and spacey keyboards that would be the pride of any Hans Zimmer soundtrack.

The mechanics behind each of this album's nine tracks are so vast in scope, elaborate in execution and free-flowing in structure that they less proper songs and more through-composed chapters of an epic novel set to music. Apart from the "Tranquillity In Darkness", which functions as the closest thing to a straightforward banger and avoids moments of blinding speed, and seems an unsubtle nod to Dark Tranquillity, no song on this album clocks in at under six minutes in length. Even entries that are only moderately longer such as the wildly chaotic opening foray "Soul Forged Destiny" and it's equally fast yet more driving successor "The Stygian Splendour" are loaded to the brim with noodling guitar and keyboard fills, to speak nothing for the rapid shifts in vocal style pulled off by Tamas, whom perfectly emulates the frostbitten growl of Jari Mäenpää's harsh voice, but features a soaring clean tenor about as frequently that's fairly close Hansi Kursch.

As a total package, this is an album that wants for very little, and it's only real flaws are a few quirks in the production and the sum of its parts being so massive that it borders on overkill. Though the mix and subsequent mastering job of veteran engineer Danil Venho functions near perfectly in reconciling the colossal arrangement of guitars and sampled keyboard timbres without crowding anything out, the end result is a bit on the tinny and top-heavy side, with the cymbal sound from the programmed drums getting a bit overbearing during some of the blast segments. On the other hand, enthralling epic entries such as "A Quest To The Abyss" and especially the 11 minute grand finale and title entry "Stardust On Cosmic Tapestry" are so vivid in presentation that these production flaws all but melt away as one is captivated by the elaborate dance of harmonized guitars, wandering voices and thunderous beats.

This is an album that has all the right elements to play in the same league as such noted underground acts as Atavistia, Nahtram, Brymir and maybe even rival the more auspicious originator of this implied movement Wintersun, and if another album will happen to come to light in less than the massive 15 years that stood before this one, it might just see this duo threaten to supplant them all. Those that crave the blend of unapologetically fast and technical showmanship that goes along with all the aforementioned bands, as well as the mighty symphonic backdrop that has become an obligatory feature thereof, will find a stellar entry here. Whether this be the beginning of an impressive career, or just the lone achievement of two highly gifted amateurs paying homage to the music they love, Stardust On Cosmic Tapestry is a mighty monument of splendor in seach of a wider audience.