Forming in 1993 in the coastal Heavy Metal heartland of Bergen, Norway, the long-standing Blackened Death Metal band Aeternus emerged from the same wellspring of furious creativity which fueled the best of the second wave of Black Metal. Largely the creation of sole founding member Ronny Brandt Hovland, aka Ares, Aeternus releases their ninth studio album Philosopher into the bleak fall of 2023 via Agonia Records.
Released on November 17th, the work on Philosopher straddles both the worlds of Black Metal and Death Metal in fairly equal fashion, as mid-paced epic “The Luciferian Architect” breathes into the speakers. The repeated riffing and hyper-double bass drum manage to create a hypnotic feeling as Ares’ throat coats the music in his morbid growl. There are some elements of Doom, mixed with the swagger of Venom and Celtic Frost. This is old school Metal with no frills, which gives it a leg up on 75% of whatever else you are listening to this year.
The ax-work of Henning Borg, aka Gorm, (also in Thyruz) works well. The production, done at Conclave and Earshot Studios, is sufficiently gravelly while also providing astute clarity to the recording. Each note on the guitars are audible and concise, without sounding overly modern. The ponderous pace of “The Intentionality of Unmitigated Evil” juxtaposes the monotony of Ares’ growl with the active fretwork on hand. In short, it keeps things interesting.
This is while “World Bleak Nepotism” paints wonderfully tension-inducing riffs with beautiful, melancholy leads. Aeternus has never needed velocity in tempo to convey their music. In this way there seems to be more similarity to the Asphyx or even My Dying Bride’s of the world than their more sped-up countrymen in the corpse-paint scene.
This is not to say that Aeternus cannot pour on some speed. “Void of Venom” is certainly not void of tempo. This standout track nevertheless maintains a mid-paced set of riffs that are not simple chugging. “Wresting Worm” continues this ferocity; this is the song that if played live would get the pit going. Once again, the articulation of each note strummed is clear as day. The verses slow it down to that epic, headbanging delivery that fans from Doom, Black, Death, and traditional Metal will eat up.
Album closer “Carving the Pristine Anomie” once again calls to mind really old My Dying Bride in vibe and delivery. Here, Ares’ vocals are as guttural as the depths, but understandable to an extent. The sum of the parts is a new school album crafted by the old school, with all of the elements that cemented extreme metal in the early ’90s, be it Death Metal, Black Metal or anything in between.
Overall, Aeternus never disappoints, and though they may not be uttered in the same breath as some of their Norwegian cousins, they were and remain a trenchant foundation of the deep underground out of Scandinavia. Do not miss out, because Cryptic Rock gives Philosopher 4 out of 5 stars.
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