AENAON

Recently signed up by Code666, Aenaon’s debut full length ‘Cendres et Sang’ (which translates as ‘Ashes and Blood’) is an eclectic foray into avant-garde black metal. Their hybrid sound pushes black metal into melodic atmospheres, progressive passages, and incorporates elements of free jazz into their compositions. ‘Kafkaesque’ opens proceedings, the title suggesting the senseless, disorienting and menacing complexity found in the author’s absurd and surreal reflections, the noir jazz sax piece hints at the aberrant psychological ordeals of David Lynch movies. Seguing into ‘Suncord’, the indomitable forces of black metal are unleashed, the jazz re-emerging in the mid-section, the fluid jazz guitar and sax lines gliding over a diminished bass line. As the might of unseen forces are felt even deeper in the straightforward stomping groove riff of ‘Psychonaut Odyssey’, a Hammond organ makes an appearance in the mix, bringing an even more sinister edge to proceedings. ‘Grand Narcotic Harvest’ uses clean, dramatic vocals in the chorus and a sound similar to a Theremin hovers eerily in the near-distance for the breakdown. The black barrage continues into ‘Once Finite’, the lead work of which is stunning and ethereal. ‘Carnivora’s Lair’ weaves in, around, and through barren wastelands into the black momentum that charges through ‘Necroscope’, ‘Kraanerg’ and ‘Black Nerve’, three songs that are utterly enthralling in their scope. ‘Black Nerve’, at just over eight minutes – with the noir sax reappearing in the midst of the menace – is a vast journey through manifold emotions, each richly merged into a beautifully expressive opus. A cobweb-covered piano accompanied by a chilling female vocal opens ‘In Heaven’, a cover of the song from David Lynch’s surrealist nightmare ‘Eraserhead’. Suitably twisted, the piece spirals deeper into the aesthetics of inner torment through black metal horror. Thus, the cycle is complete, and ‘Cendres et Sang’ ends where it began, suspended between insanity and genius. As an album, it’s very difficult to identify many, or indeed any, chinks in the armour. Aenaon are more than prepared to explore and exploit nuances in sound and structure to bring deeper dimensions to their music. Incorporating the unusual and the unexpected into the mix, ‘Cendres et Sang’ is an accomplished album, a multifaceted beast that is intense, innovative, and consummate in experimentalism and not once does it compromise the aesthetic. Highly recommended.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Code666

Album

CENDRES ET SANG

Review by Jason Guest

RUNNING TIME:

52:58

RELEASE DATE:

13th June 2011

TRACK LISTING

1) Kafkaesque
2) Suncord
3) Psychonautic Odyssey
4) Grand Narcotic Harvest
5) Once Finite
6) Carnivora's Lair
7) Necroscope
8) Kraanerg
9) Black Nerve
10) In Heaven

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Greece

"...an eclectic foray into avant-garde black metal."