Aeon - Rise to Dominate
Aeon. They’re the first band alphabetically in my library, and a damn good one. Rise to Dominate continues their brand of brutal death metal started on their EP, Dark Order, and first full-length, Bleeding the False. First of all, I have to single out the lyrics as one of the high points. They are incredibly anti-Christian and incredibly silly, but that’s why I love them. They do slip into Engrish at times (or whatever you call bad English spoken by Swedes), but the lyrics are already silly so it doesn’t matter a lot. Also, Tommy Dahlstrom’s vocals are easy to understand.
It’s amazing how this album can be so catchy and so brutal at the same time, as evidenced in songs such as “You Pray to Nothing” and “House of Greed” (I especially love the latter’s hook of “BURN! THE! CHURCH! DOWN!”). Musically, the band is excellent; the songs tend to sound a little samey, but I thought the drums really stood out, and the guitars have those jagged edges I love in metal. I’m also glad that the band has abandoned the filler intros that were on Bleeding the False. This is a great brutal death metal album, and I hope to hear more from these guys in the future.