Bloodaeons

Not very long after the first and only demo of the Swedish band Tyrant, I also bought the first output that was released under their new moniker The Legion. With their Rise of the Fallen output still in the back of the head, it did not took long until I had made up my mind on the latest one. Yes, it may be a bit unfair to judge their performance under the new banner with their first step in the black metal circus, but as a tracks on Bloodaeons is a re-recording of a previously released ones, it is as well as to do so.

Those familiar with the Rise of Fallen demo, which was released under the name Tyrant, will recognize the difference in the band's performance the very instant. From the straight-forward and aggressive black metal style of the early days, the band has broadened their spectrum to more technical art; which will gain some prominence on their debut full-length Unseen to Creation later. The progression makes sense as one might criticize the conceptual limitation on the band's first output (Tyrant), which offered not much aside from a mixture between Dark Funeral and Necrophobic. So, even though the performance was really good, it lacked a bit of an independence and identity, which might have backfired would a similar demo have been released.

The difference between the two release are obvious from second one: more dynamics, more complexity and more variation. Moreover, also on the technical side an improvement can be recognized, especially in the performance of the drummer, whose play is not limited to fast blasts but provides a larger array of motives and breaks; basically, Unseen to Creation provided the listener later with particular style performed on a high(er) level; the same can be said of the guitars of course. Aside from the barrages of riffs played by them, some emphasis had been put on melodic interludes, Shadows, as well as on the support by the keyboard, whose part does not exceed the one of providing some background texture. Everything sounds a bit controlled and designed at times. The compositions give the impression of a band who had some output and feedback already and used this to improve their song-writing. Especially On Swift Wings is a really good track, with its neat slower parts and the well written riffs, but it suffers a bit from the not optimal production; here, the bass-drum sound often quite odd and can hardly be recognized. Aside from this flaw there is not much to criticize and the band is offering a very good performance here.

I do not like the re-interpretation of their early composition This Frozen Realm. Compared to the early version, the one on this demo is simply too sterile and too well produced. Yes, there are some improvements in the arrangements, but it is not able to create the same amount of fascination that the old one was able to. Parts of this fast, aggressive and merciless blast have gone missing in the process of re-recording it. Again and again I generally perceive this track as a real 'downer'.

Final bits and bytes
I liked the straight-forward merciless type of music Tyrant once played, this minimalist but very aggressive type of music, and even though The Legion have not moved far away from their early approach, the atmosphere is a different one and gives the impression of being way more controlled and created; unlike on the Rise of the Fallen one, which has some sort of spontaneous touch. Such will be left unnoticed by those who only call this demo their possession and have never heard of the origins of some of the compositions.

To me, the output under the moniker Tyrant is still the best achievement of the band so far. Presumably, the likeliness to find this piece of art interesting depends very much on the preconception with which one is actually approaching it.