Aeturnus’ past achievements hold little comfort in this release of uninspired mediocrity.
Sounding washed-up without remorse, the Bergen-based band’s sixth-full length can only appeal to bargain-basement shoppers. This album is a grindy, dull affair which sounds more like sophomoric hopefuls than the original veterans who brought forth …And So the Night Became and Beyond the Wandering Moon. With three years passing since their last release, Aeturnus seems more like a burnt cavity than a band with heart and mind, barely eking out 33 minutes of tired, substandard riffs and beats.
Neither talent nor originality are shown here, and comparing it to the mood, tension, and depth of some of their earlier work is hardly real. Aeturnus comes out of the gate respectively, but except for the initial riffs and a touch of the atmospherics later in the song that Aeturnus is known for, even the album’s initial track, “The Darkest of Minds”, is a wash. Still, it’s far superior to track 2, “Godhead Charlatan”, which could suck the very life out of a tree. “The 9th Revolution” is more guitar buzzing and dull riffs akin to a tractor pull.
Other tracks such as “Ageless Void” and “What I Crave” have less life than a dying quail. If it takes 3 years to come up with 33 minutes of music of this quality, Aeturnus should be rethinking its options. This is ugly.
