Alone

Solitude Aeturnus knows how to do it man! That’s what I call experience. Personally, I think that doom albums are boring. But when it comes to heavy/doom metal, it’s different. Playing quality emotional music within metal borders is a gift very few bands are awarded. Solitude Aeturnus is absolutely one of them, just like the old “Trouble”. However, unlike Trouble’s new style, Solitude Aeturnus has no stoner influences and keeps it true. Actually I like stoner metal as well, but it would be big loss if they changed this beautiful heavy music to a stoner style.

The music is a mixture of My Dying Bride, old Paradise Lost, Mezarkabul/Pentagram and Nevermore (ballads only). The inclusion of Mezarkabul/Pentagram here indicates the heavy music upon a sorrowful doomy structure. I could sense the slight oriental mood in the music. It should be noted that the atmosphere and the melodies are created without any keyboards or any kind of third party instruments.

The vocal is like a combination of Murat İlkan (Mezarkabul/Pentagram) and Warrel Dane (Nevermore) at times. The Mezarkabul/Pentagram resemblance is not only apparent on the vocals but also on the melodies and guitar rhythms. The guitar sound is very heavy. The leads are rather subtle but it fits the music. This is especially obvious when the vocalist sings on guitar leads. The tempo is low – of course – but the drummer does not take advantage of it and he plays superb altos and ornaments the otherwise boring rhythms. The drum sound is very natural and very little edited.

The progressive structure drives you away and you don’t get bored of down-tempo music and you know that you’ll hear a variety of attractions like guitar and drum solos and rhythm changes. The downs of this album are that the tracks are rather long and since they resemble each other you may lose your concentration while listening.

Final sentence: You must listen to this album at night and with alcohol, and alone…

Solitude Aeturnus is back! Finally! Never before have I been awaiting Doom so eagerly! It's been eight long years since the last 'Adagio'-release and there have been a few lineup changes, so I had slight doubts if the Texas Doomsters were able to live up to my expectations. No need to. I should have realized that as long as John Perez is still writing the riffs and Robert Lowe is still singing the lyrics, there is nothing to worry about. In that case, Solitude Aeturnus will always be Solitude Aeturnus.

With that in mind, I was still surprised by the outcome of the album. Not that 'Adagio' was a bad album, not at all actually, I love it, but I could hardly believe that the band could still make such a great album as 'Alone'. Every Doom Metal fan should be glad with this album. Okay, there have been a few treats recently, for instance the last Candlemass-album, the last Krux-album and there's a new Trouble album coming up, but I haven't yet heard anything that can top this album. 'Alone' is simply the best Doom-album since 'Into The Depths Of Sorrow', the debut album of Solitude Aeturnus.

The main attraction on this album is named Robert Lowe. It is really a relief that in this time of too many vocalist torturing their throats with grunts and hardcore shouts, there is still a guy that can actually sing! Lowe sounds more powerful and more versatile than ever! Throughout the years, there has been a lot of criticism about the man, but I hope all the critics will take anything back after hearing this. True highlights are the Arabic scales he uses in, for example, 'Scent Of Death' and 'Waiting For The Light'. Unbelievable.

It's hard to pick a few favorites out of an album that is so damn close to perfection, but there are a few songs with standout moments. First of all, I loved 'Sightless' when I heard a demo version of it already. Right now, it's finished and it's even better. 'Sightless' is a killer midtempo Heavy Metal track with an incredibly catchy pre-chorus. Nice stuff for the headbangers and probably a good song for a "regular" Metalhead to check out first.

The real Doomsters among you will probably be particularly pleased by opening track 'Scent Of Death'. Personally, I think opening the album with that track is kind of a statement. It's the longest and also the slowest track of the regular album (the limited edition has one longer track) and it shows Doom Metal in optima forma. It really grabs you by the throat and only lets you go when the last notes have faded. But not for long, because the following 'Waiting For The Light' ('Sightless' and 'Waiting For The Light' are switched on the tracklisting of my version) is also a killer Doom Metal track. Once again with an incredible pre-chorus.

All throughout the album, there are some wonderful, desperate choruses sung like only Robert Lowe can. Highlights in that matter are still 'Is There' and 'Tomorrows Dead'. Both amazing tracks of which the rhythms drag along (in a positive way!) and there's something about the atmosphere of the music that just takes your mind away to some place else.

If you still can, try to get a hold of the limited edition digipack of 'Alone'. Why? Because it contains one of the best tracks of the album as a bonus track. 'Embrace' shows, in over ten minutes, that Solitude Aeturnus doesn't only have an amazing singer, but also two amazing guitarists! In the middle of the song, Steve Moseley (formerly bass player of the band) and John Perez battle with their guitar solos for over two minutes, with a pounding riff underneath. Great stuff by a great duo of guitarists!

A special mention goes out to the great cover art by Travis Smith. It fits the atmosphere of the music perfectly. Not only the lonely soul haning at a tree, but also the choice of colors and the background. Usually, I'm not really into the suicide/death theme on album covers, but it's hardly been executed so well.

What else can I say? 'Alone' is probably the best Metal album of 2006. It shows a band doing what they like best and what they do best. It's hard to find albums that have been made with such a passion and such a craftmanship nowadays. Do yourself a favor and buy the damn thing!

It wasn’t really yesterday that a new Solitude Aeturnus album was out, but now finally, 8 years after “Adagio” we have a new album. And we know that these guys deliver some heavy and depressing music with awesome lyrics, and I can even say that this one is absolutely on the same level as their classic albums (the three first ones). And with that said, this is for sure the best album the guys has done since “Through The Darkest Hour”.

The album contains only good tracks, except the half-drag song “Blessed be the Dead”, cool guitar riffs, but it lacks a good chorus and some nice melodies. But this one is truly a exception, since all other songs are great and does all have kick ass choruses, music, lyrics and excellent performance by vocal god Robert Lowe. I think he has made his best appearance in his career on this album, it’s raw, but yet melodic and he really knows how to sound depressing, which I welcome much. His vocals is so perfect for doom, and he is for sure among the best vocalists out there. Just listen to the chorus of “Tomorrow’s Dead” and I know it will give you goosebumps, and so is the whole song. Really great. And I really want to mention a passage in the opening song “Scent Of Death”, a in overall superb song, but gets even more awesome with it’s HEAVY part beginning at about 5:51. I do really mean heavy, lead-heavy guitar playing here, and with Robert’s vocals on top of that. It’s world-class. The whole band makes a great performance and John Perez has for sure written some killing riffs. The production is more modern sounding (naturally...) than the earlier albums, and Robert’s vocals lie perfect in the mix.

What we have here is simply the doom-album of the year 2006, it even beats KRUX’s “II” (!). And hopefully there’ll be more eyes up on Solitude Aeturnus after this, since they deserve much more fame than what has been given so far. It’s America’s Candlemass, easily. So if you’re into doom, get their earlier albums, and for sure this one, it’s highly recommended.

3 best songs: Scent Of Death, Tomorrow’s Dead, Burning