Aeternus – A Darker Monument
“A Darker Monument” is a transition, for it starts off in the more brutal death vein found on “Shadows of Old” and “Burning the Shroud”, but once it reaches the halfway point, Ares digs back in to the melody that piled on the feeling and made their music the perfect death/black metal hybrid on the first few albums. I really miss that style, for their music actually painted a dense atmosphere and was infinitely memorable. Once the brutality emerged to stifle the emotion, Aeternus, though still a powerful and worthy entity, became a lot more typical as they seemed to pander to the Euro death movement. This album is a step up and finds Aeternus rediscovering their roots and reveling in their own sound by creating mighty death metal that doesn’t skimp on the meaningful and moving resonance. – Marty
NOCTURNAL ART PRODUCTIONS
Worm Gear 