Heathen

When Aeternus released ...And The Seventh His Soul Detesteth in 2013, I was kind of relieved that Hexaeon (2005) wasn’t gonna be their swan song after all. The band had kicked off the new millennium pretty convincingly with Ascension Of Terror, but after that it seemed like the fire was slowly dying out. Had they first been a one-of-a-kind black metal band, Aeternus now leaned more and more towards average death metal. A little recharging of the creative batteries seemed necessary. Well, fast forward eight years, and ...And The Seventh His Soul Detesteth (I'll abbreviate the title from here on) proved that the extended break between albums had done the band good. Five years after the fact, Aeternus present Heathen, their newest (and hopefully still not final) album.

The first thing that struck me when ATSHSD was released was that it sounded remarkably dry and direct. Although rooted in black metal, Aeternus always had elements of death metal in their music, including a recognizable, massive guitar sound that felt like hot lava flowing into your ears. Although the guitar tone was still there, the production on ATSHSD felt more natural - more like the band would sound on stage, you might say. Production-wise, Heathen is equally bare-bones (perhaps even more so), but musically I think it’s Aeternus’ best album since Shadows Of Old (1999).

The general 1990s vibe on Heathen is obvious, and all seven songs sound raw, dark and brooding. Yet at the same time they’re as adventurous as black (or death) metal in those days could be. Every song takes you around unexpected corners and into unknown territory, making for an exciting listening experience. Throughout the album there are many shifts in tempo, dynamics and mood - sometimes out of the blue, more often skillfully introduced by drummer Phobos, who does a great job at keeping the music fresh and steering away from predictability. (Listen to "The Sword Of Retribution" and you'll know what I mean.)

Another indication of Aeternus' musical growth over the years are the (semi-)acoustic sections in their songs. Not that those are particularly unique; over the years, many extreme metal bands have incorporated acoustic bits in their music (prime example: Immortal). However, Aeternus carefully avoid integrating all too much of the stereotypical guitar-noodling-with-lots-of-reverb and often go for, let's say, "richter" alternatives. Check out the last two minutes of "Conjuring Of The Gentiles", where the entire band quiets down. The result is beautifully introspective music reminiscent of Fleurity's debut album Min Tid Skal Komme or (more recent while I'm writing this review) The Humming Mountain by Gaahls Wyrd. Further more, the middle section of "Boudica" is lifted up by the sound of a battle horn and album closer "'Illa Mayyit" harbors some playful percussion. All little surprises that nonetheless leave the album's overall grittiness and sincerity intact.

If ATSHSD was already a solid comeback, Heathen shows that Aeternus, and particularly chief songwriter Ares, are on top of their game again. With everything from production to artwork reduced to the bare essence, the music sounds spirited and the band is clearly eager to explore every corner of the musical universe they've created for themselves over the last two decades. And it's good to hear that while most bands from the 90s have disappeared or "evolved" to either a different sound (more modern, more sophisticated) or a different genre altogether, Aeternus is still able to conjure up the rawness that characterized Scandinavian extreme metal from that era. This makes every sign of life they give, be it on stage or on record, well worth checking out.