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Aether - Verfallsschemen
Out Now via Amor Fati Productions - Aether delivers a focused and emotionally suffocating black metal record that explores despair, melancholy, and inner decay. The album adopts a disciplined necro black metal approach, blending fast-paced drumming with dense emotional weight. Rather than relying on excess, Verfallsschemen maintains a controlled atmosphere that reinforces its themes of isolation and suffering, drawing the listener into an oppressive and introspective soundscape.
The vocal direction is critical and positioned within to merge with the instrumentation, often surfacing and receding. Their brutality reveals anguish and distress that is incorporated rather than being a dominant lead. The performance is consistently harsh, strained, and emotionally charged, conveying anguish through texture rather than range. The range is relatively narrow, however, the execution is deliberate and effective, reinforcing the album’s bleak tone.
The guitar arrangements on the record propel much of the album’s momentum,with rapid riffs forming the backbone that is Aether. Transitions between sections are gradual and deliberate, avoiding abrupt shifts in favour of slow-burning escalation, of which can be heard throughout the song Trummerwelten. While they crush hypnotic patterns that show endurance over immediacy, the riffs are frequently layered, with subtle harmonic shifts and counter-melodies emerging beneath the surface on repeated listens. The interplay between both guitars creates solid cohesion between tracks for the album.
The drum framework delivers a powerful performance that anchors the album with fast, relentless drum patterns that maintain tension without overwhelming the broader atmosphere. The blast beats brace the record for force, precision, and purpose rather than excess and tedious rhythms. This pacing reinforces the album’s sense of suffocation, and intensity perfectly displayed in Die alte Stunde. The band supports this approach, favouring clarity and separation over raw abrasion, allowing individual performances to remain distinct while contributing to a unified sonic mass. A more pronounced standalone drum solo could have added even more depth to the album, and could be explored further on future releases.
The bass arrangements subtly reinforce the album’s narrative, adding profundity and balance rather than competing for attention. They have the Midas touch when it comes to providing a stabilising force, reinforcing the low end and thickening the album’s overall density. Rather than stepping into prominence, the bass follows the guitar lines closely, adding weight and continuity that grounds the more ethereal elements of the mix.
Verfallsschemen is a diabolical and focused black metal release that prioritises atmosphere, cohesion, and emotional clarity. Aether demonstrates a beautifully grim direction marking this album as a significant step forward in their discography. This release marks a confident headway in the band’s development and solidifies their position within Germany’s contemporary black metal landscape.
Rating: 8/10
Written by: Liah F