PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
After chatting to the lads prior to their set and finding out Tommy, the vocalist had not long been to the doctor with some form of polyps on his vocal chords, that were causing him horrible pain, I wasnt expecting the best of performances. Luckily I was wrong.
The guys didnt make fans hang around, hitting the stage on time and launching into ‘Living Sins’ teeth clenching riffs fully backed up with blast beats that were just too fast to even nod your head to and not look like you were having an epileptic fit. I think attempting it to any of the tracks on the new album ‘Path of Fire'(reviewed separately) would cause a cerebral haemorrhage. Aeon is best described to anyone that doesn’t know them as a full on frontal assault with nuclear weapons.
Tommy the vocalist is an imposing presence on stage, tall and well built, with a definite menace. This man is Death Metal incarnate. He has a naturally deep, (and extremely sexy) Swedish voice, and the death growl was gruff, threatening, and impeccably performed. He is an intimidating frontman to be sure, and it is obvious he means every single word in the hate filled anti religious lyrics he pens.
Lead shredder Zeb Nilsson served up the riffs in a way Alexi Laiho would ten gun salute. Faster than the eye can see, fingertips blurred, and he barely even looked at his weapon of choice . But not one note was dropped, and the delivery was both aggressive and clear. Spectacular stuff. It does not get more technically proficient than this. Daniel was equally blinding (I know this as the fans on that side were also transfixed but I was stood stage left and didn’t move as I couldn’t take my eyes off of Zebs hypnotising fretwork, sorry Daniel, I’ll do better next time.
If you look up ‘Viking’ in the dictionary, Bassist Marcus’s face will be next to the description, along with that, go look up the definition of ‘excellent fucking bassist’, he’ll be on that one too. Seamlessly blending both gargantuan chugs and a meaty line, windmilling and throwing that long blonde mane everywhere was really a sight to behold.
Drums for me are everything. I love drums, drums drums and more drums please. The original drummer Arttu was back bashing the skins with Aeon after a 9 year seperation, and he really was keen to show he was back where he belonged by forcefully destroying your eardrums within the first two tracks. Was there a little too much triggering for some? possibly. For me? loved it. Although I’d have preferred to hear less of the assault at times and more rhythm perhaps? I feel a less is more approach on the blast beat for some of the tracks would have sufficed, but holy hell, the patterns were tight nonetheless and the tones were a nice balance with the crisp meaty guitars.
On a few tracks, fans that were stood close enough to Tommy to smell what deodorant he was wearing were treated to the microphone to belt out some of the lines, and it looked like one guy would cream with delight. Â I quote one fan, Vash Mahdia, from Aeons Facebook page..
“Thank you Aeon for that monumentally spectacular gig. Getting handed the mic to do half the chorus of ‘Return of Appoluon’ had to be the highlight of my life”
Aeon were very well received at Brixton Mass, and I found it a particularly brilliant touch that the heavily outspoken anti religion metallers played to their clearly adoring fans over Easter, in an old Church. Horns Up for that too.
My only niggle was that there wasn’t really any crowd interaction between tracks, but I’m thinking that was literally Tommy saving his voice for the vocal storm he needed to achieve. I don’t think the fans cared, but I’m such a girl I like to hear what the band have to say as well as what they perform. Plus they are all really nice guys and have such a good sense of humour!
This prime Swedish export threw every ounce of everything they had into this full and perfectly executed 13 track set from all three of their albums which was a definite plus for those that hadn’t seen them before. The almost robot like drum precision, the chugging churning riffage, the venomous hate filled vocals and peppering of fleet fingered solos gave the venue a battering. Considering it was a church, I’m surprised the walls didn’t melt.
What makes these guys special is that you know this is not deliberate stagemanship. It’s natural. These are all absolutely natural born musicians. These aren’t a pretentious poseur death metal scene band who want adulation for all the wrong reasons and have perfectly practiced poses for the camera. This is a group of 5 good friends that have the bollocks and ability to get on stage, pick up their finely tuned instruments and proceed to tear out your intestines without even batting an eyelid.
What you see is what you get. And what you get is very very good indeed.
REAL Swedish metal. Pure, unadulterated, ear bleeding, nut shattering, bone grinding, god hating, in what’s left of your face, brutal death metal.
I for one, cannot wait to see them hit these shores again soon.
Set List:
Living Sin
I will Burn
The Return of Appoluon
Spreading their Disease
Forever Nailed
Intro
God Gives Head in Heaven
Foregiveness denied
There will be no heaven for me
Helel Ben Shashar
Liar in the name of god
Of fire
God of war
Fox Rating: 8/10
