Stardust on Cosmic Tapestry

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.