Review: Aethereus – Leiden

Style: Technical Death Metal (99% harsh vocals)
Review by: Zach
Country: US-WA
Release date: 14 January, 2022

What I’m about to tell you is probably going to come as a surprise to most of you, considering I’ve touted them as one of the greatest bands of all time. For the first year that I really delved into prog, I absolutely hated Between the Buried and Me. “What the actual hell does that have to do with Aethereus?” I hear you say. And in response: “We get there when we get there, okay?”. I thought the prog gods themselves were just a whole lot of noise and meaningless noodling. I didn’t get why Colors was thrown around so much as one of the GOATs until I turned off the shuffle button.

Yes, yes. Fake music fan, I know. But little dumb Zach didn’t quite get that albums weren’t just two hit singles and filler content. Once I considered Colors one big cohesive piece, which it kinda is, everything clicked. Songs began to improve within the context of the album itself and improved as singles once I could hum the album front to back. Aethereus’s (spoiler alert) magnificent sophomore album is a bit similar. I didn’t get any of the singles when they came out, and I was ready to call their previous endeavor far superior. Oh, how wrong I was.

Aethereus are equal parts Inferi and Artificial Brain. That may have been enough to sell some of you on the album already. But for those of you who haven’t closed this out to listen yet, allow me to elaborate. Aethereus, through the power of sheer technical magic, are smack dab in the middle of weedly-weedly shreddy riffs and scary, dissonant arpeggios. This is immediately apparent from the blistering opening track ‘Aberration’. It’s melodic, yes, but there’s something sinister about the guitar harmonies. Almost a foreshadowing for what’s to come Leider on (sorry).

‘Shrouded in Kaleidoscopic Skin’ is where things start to get downright scary. Between that off-kilter acoustic in the beginning, the breakdown heavier than a neutron star in the middle, and the strings at the end, it’s place on the album begins to solidify the slow metamorphosis Leiden is about to undergo.

Leiden gets heavier and more dissonant as the album goes on. Any semblance of melody is slowly getting further and further away, and instead, we’re going to be absolutely crushed by dissonance as the album goes on. Sure, there are still little twinges of melody here and there, but ‘Behold, The World Eaters’ is relentlessly brutal and shows that the album is headed straight off the cliff of melody. Not like that’s a bad thing.

But, not like the album abandons all beauty for crushing dissonance. One only needs to listen to the opening of SOTY contender ‘The Living Abyss’ to see what I mean. And while I’m at it, the use of symphonic elements on this album is another standout to me. They’re not prevalent by any means, but when they pop up, they really add so much to the tracks they’re on.

But make no mistake. Leiden keeps getting more dissonant, but that doesn’t mean the riffs aren’t there. It isn’t the kind that makes you want to tear your ears out, but the kind that makes you ask what dark spirit possessed these guitars to be able to make those noises. ‘Son of a Nameless Father’ is downright terrifying and headbang inducing all at the same time and the piano reprise leads us right into the album’s grand finale.

‘Upon Infinite Seas’ might be one of the most brilliant tech-death songs I’ve ever heard. From those terrifying woodwinds right at the get-go, to vocalist Vance Bratcher sounding scarier than ever. Coupled with an anxiety-inducing clean vocals section, I expected this song to end with a wall of harsh noise. But quite the opposite. It ends with the last bit of melody you’ll hear on the album. A beautiful sendoff to one of the most terrifying album’s I’ve heard in recent times.

But, like all the albums I enjoy, Leiden is meant to be enjoyed as a whole. It demands your time and attention, so give it to Aethereus. They’ve crafted something truly unique in a scene where bands are beginning to sound the same, and they’ve risen far above the standard tech-death shreddy-chugs. Can’t wait to see how they’ll top this next.

Recommended tracks: Aberration, Shrouded In Kaleidoscopic Skin, The Living Abyss, Behold, The World Eaters, Upon Infinite Seas
Recommended for fans of: Inferi, Virvum, Archspire, Vale of Pnath, Artificial Brain’s spooky arpeggios
You may also like: Virulent Depravity, Arkaik, Deviant Process
Final verdict: 9/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: The Artisan Era – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Aethereus is:
– Benjamin Gassman (Guitars, Songwriting)
– Kyle Chapman (Guitars, Vocals, Songwriting)
– Matt Behner (Drums)
– Vance Bratcher (Vocals, Lyrics)
– Scott Hermanns (Bass, Songwriting)