Disciples of the Unseen

There are some bands who have real skill and talent but still go by unknown. Aeternam is one of those bands. From the first song on this album, you can tell that the band is very skilled. The music in short is epic yet brutal and unlike some modern, so called 'symphonic' bands, they don't try to hide behind layers of programmed keyboard music.

The band is very skilled. The song-writing is really amazing and you can feel that from the intro itself. Most of the songs have some time signature changes and some catchy yet brilliant choruses, all which fits in precisely and perfectly. The guitars sound raw and brutal and the guitarists play some kick ass riffs. Most of the guitarring is fast and to the point. A few slow parts too which are well executed. The bass guitar is too under-produced, and is rendered inaudible. That was my main qualm with this album and due to which I deducted 5 points. The lead guitar work is mind-blowing too. It's not overly technical but it fits perfectly with the album's ambiance.

The drumming is brutal yet catchy. The drummer has some undeniably good talent. From the first few seconds, it becomes clear that the drumming is no joke on this album. The drumming for the most part is fast and on the uptempo side. Now about the keyboards, they are quite nice. They aren't over-used and neither do they bury other instruments like a lot of other modern bands. What the keyboard actually does on this album, is to add to the overall atmosphere in a vital manner. Without the keyboard, the album will sound different, in a bad way. The vocals are good too and quite versatile. Most of the album's vocal comprise of growls (similar to Amon Amarth). The rest of them are clean choruses which fit in perfectly well. The lyrical work is decent too.

The production on this album is nice though nothing to write home about. The bass guitar is buried in the mix which made me deduct some points. Though, in the end, this is a brilliant album. If you see it anywhere, be sure to pick it up. It is bound to impress anyone who likes metal in general. I really wish that this band gets some mass appreciation.