OneMetal.com REVIEW:
Aeternam – Disciples of the Unseen

If you were to put a gun to my head and force me to name ten places from which Middle Eastern-influenced music might come from, it’s quite likely that the word ‘Canada’ would never cross my lips. I mean, seriously? Canada? Land of mounties, snow-capped mountains, maple syrup and an enviable health care system? You couldn’t really get much further away from the wind-swept deserts of the Middle East. Despite this geographical divide, however, Quebec City melodic death metal quintet Aeternam manage to do a very impressive job at invoking the mysteries of the Middle East in their debut full-length, Disciples of the Unseen.

The promotional bumph accompanying this release states that it is recommended to fans of Nile, Behemoth and Melechesh, which should give you some idea of what we’re in for here – strident, aggressive death metal combined with those exotic scales that conjure images of the dance of the seven veils as much as they do hairy metallers windmilling. Aeternam’s approach is not the down-tuned, rumbling dust-storm of brutality that Nile prefers, however – nor the blackened, howling-djinn shriek of Behemoth. Aeternam’s is a more melodic, atmospheric take – balancing flesh-stripping, thrash-via-melodic death metal riffage with harmonised leads, keyboard accompaniments and a finely-walked trade-off between harsh, growling vocals and melodic clean singing.

It is this diversity in the musical elements Aeternam have at their disposal that allows Disciples of the Unseen to touch upon a wide variety of moods and atmospheres. One moment, the band are force-feeding you hooks that require exploratory surgery to remove from your head (for example, the maddeningly catchy riffage throughout ‘Coronation Of Seth’), the next, they’re utilising layers of synths and keys along with acoustic guitars and choir-like vocals to transport you to the desert climes of their inspiration, like on mid-album interlude ‘Iteru’. The band truly excel when all such elements are present in the same song – witness album highlight ‘Goddess Of Masr’, which combines passages of hyperspeed blastbeats and tremolo-picked riffage, a hugely evocative midsection, and an epic crescendo of an ending which layers middle eastern percussion, uplifting keys, choral backing vocals and nifty leads to bring the song to a sublime conclusion.

Overall, this is a great debut by Aeternam – confident songwriting and impressive musicianship, wrapped in a polished, weighty production. While Disciples of the Unseen may not be as brutal as Nile, or as terrifying as Behemoth, it more than makes up for that with some exceptionally memorable and satisfying guitarwork, and by weaving the middle eastern influence through every part of the compositions, rather than just lobbing a vaguely Arabian melody into the mix every once in a while and reverting to death metal type for the rest of the time. Definitely looking forward to what these guys come up with next.

Aeternam’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/aeternammetal
Metal Blade Records Website: http://www.metalblade.com

Bottom Line

Intricate yet hook-filled musicianship shot through with Eastern promise. Definitely worth a listen.