ROTTING CHRIST - "Aealo" review
If you liked "Theogonia", you'll probably like this. For better or worse, Aealo is the "lost tracks" of Theogonia, but with much more ethnic Greek music. IMO, Theogonia had just one noteworthy song ("He, The Aethyr"); it ranks among classic RC and perfectly defined the group's legacy of fast, epic, melodic/atmospheric black metal. Unfortunately, the other songs on that album were forgettable ... poppy ... bland...and, well, sorta annoying. Sooner or later these guys are gonna change their name to "Thriving Christ".
Aealo has the same overproduction as its predecessor, but something you should prepare yourself for is the band's ostensible new love for alt-metal tempos. It's like Sakis Tolis joined Fear Factory or something as the vocalist, and during post-production stages, the group sampled Lisa Gerrard's music (referring to the Greek/vocal ambiance. Gerrard isn't from Greece, but you know what I mean). So they want to celebrate their lineage/heritage. Beautiful. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit well with this kind of music - the very reason Chaostar was made to be a completely separate entity from Septic Flesh.
The band hasn't developed very much in the guitar department, either. The lines in "Demonon vrosis" are almost identical to Athanati Este (from Sanctus Diavolos) and "...Pir Threontai" is nearly identical to Threnody (outro song on Theogonia). It didn't sound like there was more than one axe on the entire album, and most of the songs are difficult to tell apart from one another. "Fire Death and Fear" and "Santa Muerta" are likely the best of the entire lot, but neither was extraordinary or memorable. "Santa Muerte" sounded a little bit like my favorite era of RC (Khronos/Genesis). But as it stands now, that era of "prime creation" is gone. My once-favorite band has lost its element.
UPDATE: March 5: I Googled for other "Aealo" reviews and can't believe the scores people are giving this ham-fest. 9/10, 10/10! These individuals must not have heard any other RC album, or just started listening to the band from Theogonia-on-up. Everyone is entitled to their opinion for sure, but it seems very hypocritical how other bands (Dark Tranquillity for instance) are given guff for doing the same exact thing on each recent album, even if their formula - on the most part - works. Speaking of DT, "We Are The Void" VOIDS Aealo.
Aealo has the same overproduction as its predecessor, but something you should prepare yourself for is the band's ostensible new love for alt-metal tempos. It's like Sakis Tolis joined Fear Factory or something as the vocalist, and during post-production stages, the group sampled Lisa Gerrard's music (referring to the Greek/vocal ambiance. Gerrard isn't from Greece, but you know what I mean). So they want to celebrate their lineage/heritage. Beautiful. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit well with this kind of music - the very reason Chaostar was made to be a completely separate entity from Septic Flesh.
The band hasn't developed very much in the guitar department, either. The lines in "Demonon vrosis" are almost identical to Athanati Este (from Sanctus Diavolos) and "...Pir Threontai" is nearly identical to Threnody (outro song on Theogonia). It didn't sound like there was more than one axe on the entire album, and most of the songs are difficult to tell apart from one another. "Fire Death and Fear" and "Santa Muerta" are likely the best of the entire lot, but neither was extraordinary or memorable. "Santa Muerte" sounded a little bit like my favorite era of RC (Khronos/Genesis). But as it stands now, that era of "prime creation" is gone. My once-favorite band has lost its element.
UPDATE: March 5: I Googled for other "Aealo" reviews and can't believe the scores people are giving this ham-fest. 9/10, 10/10! These individuals must not have heard any other RC album, or just started listening to the band from Theogonia-on-up. Everyone is entitled to their opinion for sure, but it seems very hypocritical how other bands (Dark Tranquillity for instance) are given guff for doing the same exact thing on each recent album, even if their formula - on the most part - works. Speaking of DT, "We Are The Void" VOIDS Aealo.