In Embers

Say what one may about former Ensiferum front man and current Wintersun mastermind Jari Mäenpää, said composer, arranger and internet drama junkie has been something of a trend-setter in melodic death metal circles ever since he struck out on his own in 2004. The peculiar blend of adventurous, bordering on progressive and highly technical showmanship with a crisp, frosty atmosphere that defined his latter project's eponymous debut stood apart from even the more nuanced and dense compositional efforts of fellow Finnish outfits such as Eternal Tears Of Sorrow and Omnium Gatherum, having both a more complex makeup yet also a greater proliferation of hooks due to the underlying folk metal influences held over from Ensiferum. Though originally this newly minted niche saw a handful of fellow Finnish emulators such as Frosttide and Brymir, within the past few years this trend has filtered into much of Central Europe, with such newcomers as Germany's Nahtram and Austria's Black Forest providing their own spins on the Wintersun formula. It was no doubt inevitable that eventually Poland would get in on the craze, but the newcomer quintet Aether showcases that a stylistic well upon which many idea have already been drawn can still contain a few surprises if their debut In Embers is any indication.

The dueling forces of fire and ice are a common visual that goes with this complex subset of melodeath, but Aether's approach on their debut LP In Embers takes on more of a straightforward, by the numbers formula. The massive, drawn out songwriting that typifies a number of ambitious emulators of the Wintersun's latter day formula such as the Canadian act Atavistia are nowhere to be found here, but rather a more hook-driven mixture of Finnish and Swedish influences that culminate in something that has a sort of dreary, yet occasionally whimsically folksy quality to it. This tendency is on full display with the album's opening anthem "Golden Eyed Fox", which has a riff set busy enough to rival the frenetic character of "Beyond The Dark Sun", but packaged in more of a dreamy, Omnium Gatherum-styled template of coldness and featuring a frolicking piano intro that could be likened to a white fox scurrying through a snowy field. Other similarly structured but more mid-paced offerings like "Valhalla" and "Insomnia" echo this Omnium Gatherum tendency, while the husky growls of front man and guitarist Michal Miluski has a slightly deeper character than Wintersun, but possessed of a similarly whispering and frostbitten character, while the clean vocals that chime in at various points are a bit smoother and more airy than the baritone choirs normally employed by typical folk-tinged band of this persuasion.

Nevertheless, there are times where this outfit's more epic, almost power metal-like character pulls things a good bit closer to the feel of this style's 2004 progenitor. It becomes most apparent during the two-song cycle that is "Elements" and "Tale Of Fire", which combines a droning, densely orchestrated fanfare with a serene atmosphere, in the case of the former, with a busy and pomp-steeped cruiser that could have almost passed for a lost track off the Wintersun debut if it had a few more shred-happy guitar solos and some high-pitched power metal shrieks to complement the icy barks and growls. The fast-paced and gallop-happy banger "Last Battle" rides a fairly close second though, and really brings in the Ensiferum brand of folksy goodness while also maintaining the tundra-like atmosphere that is this style's staple. The guitar work and heavy keyboard presence generally drives these songs, but it would be a mistake to discount the outstanding drum performance of Stratovarius' own Rolf Pilve, who rivals Kai Hanto's precession-based mayhem and flawless blast beats and definitely lends a Finnish flair to this Polish outfit. Interestingly enough, the driving flow and melodic contour of "Forest" has a slight Stratovarius character to it at times, while the dense orchestrations that paint over the closer "Dream" occasionally flirt with sounding like something Nightwish might have dabbled in prior exodus of Tarja Turunen.

This is an album that takes all of the better elements of the mid-2000s epic melodic death metal sound and distills them into something that's a bit more accessible to the rank and file who would find the post-s/t output of Wintersun to be excessively long and convoluted. It bears some similarity to Brymir's concurrent 2019 album Wings Of Fire, but with a greater emphasis on atmospheric nuance and less of an aggressive and technical character. It's a consistent offering with no slouches from start to finish, and has a sort of unifying flow to it that lends extremely well to listening all the way through in a storybook fashion rather than skipping around. Think of it as the clever fox that eludes the notice of the great arctic wolves of its domain, taking a course that involves taking down smaller prey and relying upon a more cunning approach to the hunt, rather than gathering the pack and overwhelming a massive elk with overwhelming force. It's about as faithful of an emulation of the signature style of Finland as one might come to expect outside of said nation; so much so that like their similarly named and sounding American counterparts Aether Realm, they may want to include the same disclaimer that they are not actually Finnish.

There are quite a few bands named Aether here at MA. Today we are talking about the melodic death metal outfit hailing from Poland. There first full length titled “In Embers” got quite a positive feedback when it was released in 2019. It was even mentioned in several discussions when it came to the genre’s top releases of last year so I went on to check what the hype is all about and I can confirm: Yep, this is some seriously good stuff.

The riffs are cut from the same clothes as we all know from the traditional Gothenburg school. I guess that each of the basic chops presented on “In Embers” has already been played by In Flame, Dark Tranquility, Wintersun or any other of their peers in one or another variation. Personally speaking innovation is not what I am looking for when searching for new music these days, so I am glad to report that while there might be nothing really new or original the instrumentation is top notch.

Hefty rhythm chords are accompanied by fantastic lead guitars, perfectly enhancing one another. Often those harmonies work in the background to lift the atmospheric level of the whole affair or offer short interludes that are used to connect different parts of one song. There is also a bit of extended soloing, but while those show great technical skills they have been perfectly embedded into the tracks. The natural flow of the songs is never hurt by pure showcasing, and the whole album feels like one stringent piece of music. Most songs have memorable hooks making the album immediately enjoyable for the average listener.

The drumming is fast and ferocious pushing the music even more forward. The speed and intensity are kept high over the whole playing time with only a few slowed down parts. Thankfully the band members are very talented songwriters making sure that each song is easily distinguishable from the others so that there is not one moment of boredom. That being said the album has a very stringent feel leading to a very satisfying listening experience when consuming the whole record in one sitting. Some subtle blackish nuances are used to further ramp up the intensity.

The biggest asset of Aether are their songwriting skills. Nearly each single track presents ultimately remarkable hooks and catchy melodies. Some of folky and melodic pieces might come across as sounding a bit poppy, but it is nearly impossible to not get swept away by the epic soundscapes. The songs are structured in a coherent way so that it is easy for the listener to follow what is going on without sounding too simple or boring. The powerful growling is the icing on the cake.

Of course such kind of music does need a modern and powerful production and I am glad to report that Aether managed exactly to achieve that. The mix is tight, clear and crisp, with all elements being perfectly audible. The guitars are heavy and crunchy while the drums have the much needed punch without sounding too sterile. The cover artwork got a bit of criticism and I can see why but hey – if the cover is the main complaint when talking about an album you got a real winner at your hands.

Aether is a Polish band that seems to have a really high affinity for the "Wintersun genre". If the "Beautiful Death" reference in the lyrics of their first single "Forest" (see below) wasn't enough to hint you out, then the way their debut album sounds certainly will. It falls straight into the orchestral, epic style of death metal that Wintersun has initiated and various metal bands from around the world followed. But I feel I need to make a strong case that this band is not a copy! Their sound and songwriting style is very much their own, and for a debut album, it sounds surprisingly mature and well balanced.

"In Embers" kicks off with the already released single "Golden Eyed Fox" and that is a very good example of what you can expect from the whole album. It is quite straightforward, fast, energetic and drenched in keys and sampling orchestras. Their songs revolve around the 4-5 minute mark and they all tend to follow the same pattern (which to me was probably the only real downside of this album). They have a way of always throwing both impact and melody at the same time and as a result of some really inspired themes, the songs are quite catchy and easy to get into. On the technical side they also don't disappoint, offering some really satisfying, fast and tight riffing backed by a part death metal, part power metal drumming style courtesy of Stratovarius drummer Rolf Pilve. Slap in some sweet flashy solos, excessive orchestra hits, a few blast beats and a really raspy scream and your sound is complete! I'm actually getting a lot of overly flamboyant power metal vibes from this album (check out the cover artwork too) but with none of the usual power metal cheese.

Now keeping that kind of energy all the way through could get a bit redundant. But Aether found a very good way to mix things up and work around that. Inserting brief snippets of calm, with very clever use of keys, samples and clean guitar, they created a beautiful, dreamy sort of atmosphere that makes a nice contrast and keeps the energy fresh and exciting every time they kick in again. They also have a knack for crescendos by building up some properly epic percussion over the atmospheric effects (the "Elements" interlude is the best example of this and definitely one of the highlights of the album). Another really sweet bonus are the guest vocals. Especially the ethereal, shimmery vibe added by the female vocals in "Last Battle" and "Dream" was an absolute delight. "Dream" is probably my favourite song on the record and it's final keyboard outro is an awesome way to close the album. The sick double pedals in "Tale of Fire" also require a mention.

This album ticks all the melo-death boxes, and it has a few power metal and symphonic elements too. The production is also really high quality (though I felt the vocals were a bit too overpowering in the mix from time to time). The list of negatives for "In Embers" is very brief so if you're into melo-death and especially if you're keen on epic soundscapes, you have to give it a try!

Originally written for The Metal Observer.