exploremusic

This Quebec City metal band’s debut album is one of my favourite releases of the year so far.

Aeterman—their name is Latin for "funerals," if you were wondering—make death metal with certain defining characteristics, including getting right into both heaviness and melody. I wouldn’t say that they find a balance between styles so much as they create songs in a style that often utilizes both.

First, let’s talk about the heaviness. It’s of a catchy, old school-influenced variety but it’s not old-fashioned. Guitarists Achraf Loudiy and Alex Loignon can play hard while Jonas Lapointe pounds away at the bass, and even the most straight-forwardly heavy parts on the album will satisfy those looking for impressive musicianship and creative songwriting. Also, Samuel Dubois’s keyboards often contribute to Disciples of the Unseen‘s epic feel.

Now, the melody. Wow. Middle Eastern influence is apparent in the many guitar solos, which are impressive but grounded. There are real tunes and feelings in the notes being played, and like the riffs, they evolve when doing so is appropriate.

Antoine Guertin must be commended for providing drum work that’s more than just serviceable. His playing fits what the rest of the band is doing without necessarily just matching or following it—he adds a lot to the songs by putting his own details into the rhythms, which are often almost melodic themselves.

As for the vocals, which are credited to Loudiy and Lapointe, they are mostly death growls that sound strong without sounding harsh. There’s also occasional whispering, some vocal harmonies, and effective use of sincere clean singing—most of "The Coronation Of Seth" and all of "Iteru" are sung cleanly. Like a lot of things on this album, including the acoustic guitar used in both aforementioned tracks, the changes to clean singing aren’t jarring.

I wouldn’t call Aeternam a progressive metal band, but I would say that they write songs that progress in not necessarily conventional or predictable ways. Things like singing and acoustic guitar aren’t forced into the mix, they’re just part of the band’s repertoire, like everything else they do here.

All these descriptions might make metal fans think of Nile and Behemoth. I’d say Aeternam’s sound is generally closer to the latter, and some songs, like "Goddess Of Masr," even make me think of Opeth’s Ghost Reveries, but I don’t want to spend too much time in this review making reference to other bands because Aeternam’s appeal may well stretch beyond fans of bands I might compare them to. I think most metal fans will like some things about this album, and many metal fans, like me, will like everything about it.

Click here to check out Aeternam’s MySpace page.