Second full-length album from Death Metallers AEON formed in 1999 and an album that did hit me like a hammer the first time I threw it in my CD-player. “Rise to Dominate” is a somewhat typical Technical Death Metal affair but God Damn... it’s one hell of a bastard.
The growls from Tommy Dahlström are awesome... to put it simple. Brutal yet understandable. The guitar riffs, peppered with lots of guitar-squeals, are brutal but still catchy as hell... if you can use the term catchy in this kind of music. The drumming is also outstanding in my humble opinion. And... so is the production. Crystal clear and powerful.
There’s a good balance between pure up-tempo Death Metal to the more groovy parts so you never feel bored. And I must admit that since I received this 12 tracks promo-CD I haven’t been able to stop listening to it... really, it’s that good.
My favourite tracks... even though they are all awesome... could very well be “Spreading Their Disease” that somehow reminds me of Vader. The guitar runs are absolutely out of this world on this track.
Or what about track 5 “You Pray to Nothing”. This track leads my mind towards the fantastic album “Domination” by Morbid Angel. Excellent and groovy as hell.
Another highlight is “When the War Comes”... and even though it’s a fast track it has a huge impact on me. Spiced with lots of guitar-squeals AEON simply kills on this track. Well... then we have “There Will Be No Heaven For Me”... once again Morbid Angel’s fantastic album “Domination” comes to mind. Awesome groovy track.
Worth mentioning is also “Luke 4:5-7” that contains one of the best guitar riffs I have ever heard in my life and the last track “No one Escapes us”. A track very, very close to Morbid Angel’s “Hatework” from... “Domination”.
With one of the best growlers around and some of the best guitar riffs in real Metal, AEON has released one of the best Death Metal albums of all time in my humble opinion.
I’m already on my knees praying for more music from them. So hunt this album down right away, because it certainly belongs into every serious Death Metal collection.
