What exactly is “Primitive, Apocalyptic Black Metal”?
Well, Aeba will give you a fine example of it. Their new album, ‘Kodex V’, sees Aeba abandon the heavy keyboarding and highly symphonic sound of previous album ‘Rebellion: Edens Asche’ to do what they were meant to do; play vicious Black Metal. Despite the acoustic guitars and the band’s ventures into softer parts like in the beginning of ‘Seven Souls,’ Aeba, who hail from Germany, play raw, Black Metal.
These additions in fact just prove that beasts are unpredictable and that just when you think you’ve tamed them; they attack. I also think that Isegrim’s vocals sound much better on ‘Kodex V’, though they were never bad. A great track, ‘Ruins Of Heaven,’ has a little of everything the band has to offer with its sheer, primal ferocity, amazingly catchy guitars and a pace that goes from fast to really fast. ‘Made Of Hate’ and ‘De Adventu Antichristi Et Fine Mundi’ are also fine examples of Aeba’s intensity and the guitar playing of Schattensturm and Xsaahr shine even more. While ‘Le Petite Morte’ may not be the best example of the band’s raw nature, it’s a magnificent song that I got lost in. The guitars are calming and are perfect for a mid-album breather. The rather bland outro of the last track ‘King Or Slave’ is not very exciting or even Black Metal. The rest of the song is still awesome.
Unlike many bands today, Aeba has not given into grand production finesse to sell albums, though the production quality far outweighs that of early Aeba incarnations like ‘Im Schattenreich’ and ‘Flammenmanifest’. They use their musicianship and skill. ‘Kodex V’ proves that. It is the best Aeba offering yet and will satisfy old and new fans alike.
