Album Reviews : Aeon of Horus – Existence

Who would’ve thought our Capital Territory would birth some of this countries most prolific bands? With past acts like Armoured Angel, Alchemist and Pod People this goldmine of heavy metal is undeniable . But don’t assume Canberra’s metal glory lies in the past, it’s next generation of talented acts like The Levitation Hex, I Exist and Aeon Of Horus show that the future of extreme music is in good hands.

‘Existence’ is the bands second full length and welcomes the addition of two new metallers, guitarist Carlo Beasley and Adam Brown on bass. Both musicians display a stellar performance that’s both diverse and inventive producing an album that even this early could be a contender for album of the year.

Combining brutal death metal with elements of technical, melodic, symphonic and progressive metal, Aeon Of Horus have defiantly masted the art of technicality and groove . After hearing the album only a few times I’m already in awe of how sonically balanced it is, each song comprises of several musical styles while never sounding like a cut and paste thrown together piece of musical shit. The change between cool shredding riffs to interludes of stunning bass work and syncopated drumming (at times you’d be forgiven for thinking that drummer Ben Hocking has four feet) is well executed. Along  with tasteful and inventive chord structures and time signatures Existence gives the listener plenty to sink there teeth into.

Andy Annand’s vocals are a mix of low growls (but not quite inaudible guttural) to raspy black metal screaming . Combined with the ambient keyboards (also provided by Annard) his vocals sound fucking epic and fit the songs well. The keyboards are predominantly used to add depth and create at times an erie /dreamy atmosphere. There’s none of the usual guitar/keyboard solos typical of progressive bands. Instead Annard shows off his compositional prowess with the somber piano intro (and outro) of Resolve, and the subtle backdrop of  piano in the mid section of Dissipate.

The abundance of extended interludes inbetween the verses gives Brown plenty of time in the spotlight, the intro to Resolve shows he can write awesome bass lines while the instrumental tracks Emanate/Parallax and Thesis shows his technical ability.

‘Existence’ is technical guitar driven death metal laced with “mini moog” bass solos, toolesque ringing chords and spine chilling keyboards, if your a fan of death metal or progressive metal do yourself a favour and snap this up you won’t be disappointed.

Aeon of Horus’ new album ‘Existence’ is due for a March 2014 release.

Track list:
1. Refractions
2. Radiate
3. Symbiosis
4. Exude
5. Release
6. Emanate/Parallax
7. Dissipate
8. Thesis
9. Antithesis
10. Resolve

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