Aenaon
Phenomenon
Bleak
Art Records
2009
The
intense and technical Greek black metal quintet come out guns blazing
on their debut EP. The intro merges orchestral and industrial
elements into an exercise in dark immersion therapy, creating a mental
state perfectly suited to the tight, clinical black metal of Perdition:
A New Era. Rapid-fire drumming and precision riffing spray out of
the speakers like bursts of machinegun fire. Meaty Morbid
Angel-ish rhythms open And Chaos...Enthroned. The guitars ripple
with sinewy power before gripping ahold of a speedy black metal
explosion which tails off with a melodic lead. Icy riffs prevail
on Navel, as Aenon make and emphatic statement of confident
death infused black metal. Smashing snare hits and burly
bass drums highlight a section technical riff patterns before
flying off into a fiery flurry of blasting black metal.
Industrial sonic textures form the foundation for the
mathematical musings of Extradimensional Wall. A feeling somewhat
like a less interesting Red Harvest. So it is with a mild
let down the EP ends. Though black metal in vocals, attitude and
certain riffing elements, I feel that Aenaon actually has a lot more in
common with the Morbid Angel school of devastating precision death
metal. Sort of like a less symphonic Emperor meets Zyklon!