A gloomy and very well-crafted introduction sets a heavy atmosphere reminiscent of early Rotting Christ… Then, a flood of violence crashes down on the listener through an assault of fast and powerful riffs. And what riff! Impactful, memorable, they throw us straight into ‘Fall Of Man’, the debut EP from Greek duo Blood Aeon, hailing from the city of Rhodes. With such an opening, our attention is immediately caught, and we are quite surprised by the quality of the production. Without being overproduced, this mini-album is still of a very high standard, which is rather rare for a first effort. It must be said that vocalist Satanicult is not a newcomer and has performed in like half a dozen bands.
The first track ‘Black Is My Divine Urge’ presents a classic, rather old-school and straightforward Black Metal approach, executed with skill and enough quality to give some appetite for what follows.
With the second track, ‘The Place of the Skull (Κρανίου Τόποc)’, one gets the impression of hearing Sabbat, and that is a real pleasure. It does not reinvent the wheel, that is for sure, but damn, these riffs are enjoyable! The breaks are well thought, and the atmosphere manages to be both rock’n’roll and sinister at the same time. The vocals are really charismatic, with plenty of grit and texture, which is particularly interesting for this kind of music. It is a major asset, and certainly not something to complain about.
The four tracks that make up ‘Fall Of Man’ are all excellently crafted, well worked out, and varied enough to prevent the listener from being faced with a redundant swarm of violence. Rhythmic shifts and variations are intelligently scattered throughout the songs, and the record closes with the more mid-tempo and sinister ‘Fall Of Man’ song, which renews the listening experience thanks to its less frontal approach (compared to the other tracks) and its restrained use of keyboards. The song is far more haunting, dark, and fatalistic. It is a complete success and proves that Blood Aeon does not confine itself to a single register but is capable of approaching its music in different ways, with subtlety.
Overall, it seems to me that this EP offers a very promising glimpse of what the band will be capable of delivering in the future: high-quality and varied Black Metal. We can say that the musicians know their classics and make good use of those influences to create their own universe, their own vision of what Black Metal is, without blindly copying their predecessors. All that is missing are a few truly virtuosic riffs, and Blood Aeon will then have the potential to stand among the major bands of the coming years.
Looking forward to their next offering. Recommended!
