Aeturnus Dominion - Psychotic - [Grindhead Records]

2007-06-21

This is a very interesting, albeit unusual, album by this Australian band, their second full length. It's unusual mainly because the band is a death metal band, with some proper death metal tracks, but almost every second song on this album benefits from strong melodic vocals, which made some of the songs sound closer to Candlemass and Grimmet-era Onslaught… as I said – it's quite unorthodox.

Musically there's some solid musicianship in here, a strong drummer and some nice riffing, and it works well both in the purely death metal tracks and in the melodic ones I mentioned, but I have to say, the sound in this album almost kills everything. It's underground, no-budget work all the way, and in certain points it just undermines the band's talent, with the guitars and the vocals being the first on the receiving end.

I have to say it's difficult to decide what songs I like better, the rather brutal death metal tracks, which feature some strong growls, or the melodic ones. After much deliberation I would say the melodic ones, not a lot of vocalists carry such a strong voice, while death growlers you have plenty, and if the band marches on into that direction, they can easily create a powerful melodic doom/thrash album, just as long as the production is better.

Alon Miasnikov