Review: Æternal Requiem - Rise
Who says Traditional Metal, or even Power Metal is dead? In
fact, in the underground for a few years now there has been a rebirth of sorts
with international bands of all sorts known as the “New Wave Of Traditional
Heavy Metal”. Some of the bands do things super traditionally, almost sounding
like their albums were recorded in 1983, others spice it up with more modern
Power Metal or other influences.
One such act making their ascent are Æternal Requiem,
Their newest album, Rise, is being set to be released June 11th 2019 (and will be available to purchase, or to stream, from most digital platforms (i.e. Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, etc.) and here's what I thought after taking a listen:
After a cool baroque intro and majestic continuation with
electrified instruments (called strangely enough, “intro”) the metal begins
with a downtuned riff pattern and somewhat blast beats with orchestral backing.
It then continues with a Maidenish beginning or even recalling latter day
Manowar in a way.
This song, "Rise", then continues with a baritone vocal that is
majestic and medieval enough to carry the song ahead.
The vocals are the first
aspect I recognized as having real appeal, since the genre of Power Metal can
go either way, with a squeaky clean super high falsetto vocal abusing the high
notes, or a growling Accept-derived clean style vocals. This band does neither
(refreshingly). Having a more “crooner” style vocalist isn’t common in this
style of metal, though lower vocalists do range in the style from Mathias Blad
to the (underappreciated) Blaze Bailey. I could also add Pelle Ahman from the
sadly broken up band, In Solitude, or even Tom Ecklund and there is also a slight Horror Punk vibe to some of the
vocals as well (note: upon reading their press kit, AFTER doing this review,
seeing that singer/guitarist Austin Zettner is influenced by Glenn Danzig was
not a surprise!)
Some of the vocal melodies and melodies in general, at least
early on in the album, Aeternal Requiem does in general also remind me of Folk
Metal acts such as Tyr, etc, but with an added emphasis on heavier riffs than many of
those bands. The raw yet smooth production on the album, which sounds neither too
triggered nor sterile, does the music justice more than a lot of albums I’ve
heard in awhile. If other bands got the memo that you can make great metal
music without it sounding quantized 1000 times, it would arguably be in a
better state right now. The fact that they recorded it on analog equipment (another fact I found out after the above lines were written) again comes as no surprise!
“Never Return” continues the album with an intro that almost
reminds one of prime old school Amorphis with the it’s intro melodies, though
it’s back to speed zone again after awhile.
One of the things that Æternal Requiem does that might not
appeal to fans of many of the modern Power Metal genre is something that is
actually a benefit. They have a very musical, sometimes understated style that
is never too wanky for the sake of being wanky. This might actually appeal to some
fans of bands of Slough Feg and other traditional acts rather than your average
Dragonforce fan
To me, since much of the more modern style is played out in some ways (even if I liked the past couple Dragonforce albums to some extent), it’s a benefit that the band seems (despite blast beat
parts and more extreme metal influenced parts) so owing to their traditional
influences. The fact that a Traditional Metal band can sound so fresh is
something that I treasure and gives doubt to the fact that the genre is dead in
any way!
"On My Way" continues the album, with no less aplomb, though in much the same vein, but it’s the next song "Day Of Reckoning", an instrumental (which I usually
always like on an album) that really kicks one in the gut. Full classic Maiden
melodies intermeshed with almost black metal or brutal death blasts and then
some awesome tones on guitar.
The next song is a ballad, about a very dark subject (in
this case as the title suggests, a “Succubus”). The song is an almost perfect
mesh of the gothic ballad and NWOBHM doomy Power ballad sound. A second half
that Mercyful Fates it up is an awesome transition to melody and power even
recalling some prime Norwegian Black Metal in a way (complete with subtle
keyboards) towards the end.
“Dead to the World” begins with a bass intro, and a somber
melody sets the tone for a song that then gets more epic (and fast). The
galloping rhythms and changing intervals give a way to another darker gothic
sound that is no less powerful. The hooks envelope you, with an awesome panache
that will stick to you for days.
“So Far” ends the album with another Folkish style offering,
complete with the choir vocals that appeared earlier on the album.
So would I recommend this band? I would wholeheartedly say
yes. They mix a lot of different influences together, and have a fresher sound
than many of the bands playing similar styles today. The earlier comparison to
Falconer is especially apt, as (much like that band) none of the instrumental players take precedence
over each other. There is some shred, and some virtuosic drums and bass, but
it never gets overbearing. The band never gets formulaic though, which is
common way too much in these genres, and there are enough epic parts and tempo
changes to not exactly be Prog Metal, but definitely spicy!
If you want a band
that values great melodies and great songs in the Metal genre today (not to mention production that has pure soul), I will
again hesitation that you should keep an eye for these guys. There are
definitely big things coming ahead!
You can get more information on Æternal Requiem from the
following links:
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