As I often do, I tend to scour people’s lists of “must hear”
or “Top X” metal albums, but the ones I really enjoy are the lists dealing with
the obscure and overlooked. From its earliest days, heavy metal has seen
hundreds of obscure gems that have gone by the way side or tragically, simply
never got their chance to shine. One day, I happened to be searching a list of
black metal albums that had “gone under the radar” and the band Aeba popped up.
I had heard of the band in the past, but had never heard any of their work, but
the album in particular that landed on that list was “Im Schattenreich...”. I’ll
admit, the cover was what sold me, as it had a mid-90’s darkness about it, one
that I love in a good black metal gem, so I took a chance.
Now, “Im Schattenreich...” is listed as a demo, but much like
Nokturnal Mortum’s “Lunar Poetry”, this is as close to a full length as you’re
going to get. At seven songs clocking in over 41 minutes, this, much like many
other “full length” demos, offers far more than just a few sample songs.
Hailing from Germany, Aeba play black metal that pays homage
to the classic, raw sound that black metal build upon, while adding some
technical approaches to their music. The riffs on this album are not just your
standard tremolo picking that many vanilla black metal bands rest their laurels
upon. Instead, they are layered with the other instruments which help create a somber
mood throughout the album, but all the while maintaining their ferocity in
their own right. The riffs are clearly the driving force on this album, as they
take hold of the listener right away, but they do so in a way as to not simply
hog the spotlight.
Aeba also add in keyboards throughout their songs, allowing
the bridging of sections and the transition in moods. But, don’t let the keys
frighten you away. This is by no means your standard symphonic black metal
album, which is drenched in keyboards. The keys offer a nice wall of sound, but
they do so more in the background, essentially playing wingman to the guitars
as take control of each song.
The bass really enhances the power of the guitar. Their
loud, crunchy presence is nice to hear on a black metal album, which
technically a demo at that. The drums pound away throughout the album, but they
are by no means simply just along for the ride. The drums offer a crucial element
to the sound, changing their tempo quite often which enables the band to creating
a melodic sound using both the guitars and keyboards.
One thing a like about these songs are the length. The songs on, "Im Schattenreich"
average roughly 7 minutes and although a couple would probably have benefited
from shaving off a minute or two, none of the tracks are crammed with filler
just for the sake of having long songs. As I final note, I will mention the production
on “Im Schattenreich...” as even though this is a demo, it sounds very crisp.
Yes, the classic raw like sound exists, but it is not basement, mobile cassette
recorder sounding by any means. All of the instruments, save the drums at
times, can be heard and appreciated throughout.
“Im Schattenreich...” is the reason why I love scouring
lists of hidden or obscure albums. So many times in the past, I’ve passed on
albums, simply because they didn’t have any ratings or reviews, but as I’ve
learned over time, sometimes, those albums can be pure gold. This is one such
case of a pleasant surprise after taking a blind chance.
Highlights: "Gottesmord" "Dragonstorm"
"Revenge - The Strength Beyond the Light"
No comments:
Post a Comment