By: Richard Maw
Album Type: Full Length
Album Type: Full Length
“Suspended Between Earth and Sky” CD//DD track listing:
1). In Media Res
2). From Ash and Sulphur
3). All Was Froze
4). Anvil Chorus
5). The Sun Surrenders It’s Crown
6). Cohesion
7). Eldmessa
The Review:
Album number three for these Hampshire death metallers, sees the band return after an extended absence from the UK scene. For reasons unknown to me, this album comes seven years after their sophomore record. Pleasingly, though, this is a strong album... and it has something a little different.
This is death metal, but as opener “In Media Res” makes clear, this is not your standard chug/blast/growl fare. Well, all those elements are present- certainly- but this is not in any way a cookie cutter (monster?) release. The riffing owes a good deal to atmospheric black metal in places- as does the guitar tone. The time changes, beats and drums are very much death metal- but with a very neat progressive and technical element that lends the band a sound all their own.
It is certainly technical, it's progressive and it's angular and jarring- but it all hangs together very well. It is smooth through its twists and turns and expertly played. When the band chooses outright speed (“All Was Froze”) it is ferocious and clinical. When they slow down it is unpredictable, well-crafted and even melancholic in terms of the sounds produced. Speaking of which, the production is very good, crystal clear and powerful as well. Gone are the days of a muddy mix ruining death releases.
The sheer scale of “Anvil Chorus” allows the band to spread their wings, the short run time of “The Sun Surrenders It's Crown” is not to allow an all-out blasting assault- quite the opposite, in fact. To reference another track here, the whole thing is remarkably cohesive for a record with this many different elements. Ageless Oblivion must be commended for such an ambitious record after such a long time away.
It is unusual enough for me to not really reference any one or few bands that this sounds like- because that would be reductive and inaccurate here. Yes, it is death metal, but there are elements of black, sludge and so on within. It is technical and progressive- as noted- but that technicality is not the focus of the album; just one of its facets.
Ageless Oblivion have made a great album; it is deathly, daring and different
“Suspended Between Earth and Sky” is available HERE
