AENAON

I have received the 6 track CD Phenomenon from Greek band Aenaon with some great anticipation as I have heard of this band before; and they come to you highly recommended. The music these guys make is in that well visited vein of fast, melodic riffery. Even the vocals are none too dissimilar to Shagrath on his best day. All in all these guys do not disappoint. Anyway, that is an impression of what they sound like; here is what the album is like. It’s very good, actually and, as a reviewer, it is exactly to my taste. The songs on ‘Phenomenon’ are of the Dimmu Borgir school of song construction with elements of ‘In Sorte…’ in there for good measure but a technical competence that echoes Opeth also springs to mind. Blast beats and tempo changes abound but serve the songs well. They are not there for the sake of it and Aenaon certainly have a point to make. I'm biased towards the guitars (as a guitarist I naturally am); I’m impressed by the axemanship on display here. They are pin sharp and the razor edged tones are controlled well but the rest of the band are equally as well placed. In fact the bass player and drummer are very much in sync. I'm pleased to say they haven't spoiled the overall brutality of the record with the symphonic elements as other bands have as this would render them too close too Dimmu. There is enough distance to show a nod to the Norwegians but retain that all important individuality. Stand out tracks for me are ‘The Virus code’ and ‘And Chaos...Enthroned’. They blend well. The production of the CD is immaculate. An evocative cover and sleeve that has some very cool imagery. It is mixed well, all the sounds are good and the production/mastering is actually flawless. This is not your average black metal disc. All in all, it's a pity it's only 6 tracks long (although on my disc if you skip to track 27 you get an unusual hidden vocal bit?).

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Bleak Art Records

EP

PHENOMENON

Review by Paul Etcell

RUNNING TIME:

24:19

RELEASE DATE:

22nd Sept 2009

TRACK LISTING

1) Et In Arcadia Ego
2) Perdition: A New Era
3) The Virus Code
4) And Chaos...Enthroned
5) Navel
6) Extradimensional Wall

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Greece

"...they haven't spoiled the overall brutality of the record with the symphonic elements as other bands have as this would render them too close too Dimmu."