Ireland's Dead Aeon have recently released their debut e.p. 'Apotheosis', featuring five tracks of scathing blackened death metal. UKEM decided it was time to get to know this relatively young band a bit better.....
For those unfamiliar with the band, please give us a brief history of the band?
Dead Aeon are a blackened death metal band from Monaghan, Ireland. Formed in mid 2008, the band began as a cover band. After extensive gigging across the country, establishing ourselves as a band that could execute covers with precision, we started work on our own music. We recorded our debut EP, entitled “Apotheosis” in July of 2012 and released it on the 24th of November of that year. We have been constantly gigging across the country to promote “Apotheosis”, playing with world renowned acts such as Anaal Nathrakh (UK) and Christ Agony (Pol), as well as the country’s biggest metal acts such as Warpath and Putrefy. “Apotheosis” continues to get outstanding reviews and due to the success of the EP, we shot official music videos for the tracks “Rise To Power” and “Mass Culture Theory” that have collectively gained over 4000 views.
Introduce us to each of the band members!
Jack Penders - Vocals
Chris Winsryg - Guitar
Dan Doherty - Bass
Evan McGuigan - Drums
Who came up with the band name and what is the influence behind choosing such a moniker?
It was our drummer Evan, who came up with the name Dead Aeon. At the time of choosing a new band name, our music was getting noticeably darker and dirtier. We wanted a name that would portray and mimic the darker side of music that we were going for and Dead Aeon fit that perfectly.
You have recently released your debut e.p 'Apotheosis', how has this been received so far?
So far the EP has been received with much praises. We are immensely proud of it and the reviews we have received are very encouraging.
Musically, who influences you, if anyone at all?
Individually we all have our own influenced but as a band, our main influences would be the likes of Decapitated, Behemoth, Gojira, Meshuggah and Enslaved.When it comes to writing we like to blend our collective influences and churn out something different. We strive for the combination of power, groove, speed and atmosphere.
What themes and topics do your lyrics deal with?
On the "Apotheosis" EP, the lyrics are predominantly anti-religion and anti-oppression. In future songs we'd like to expand our lyrical themes and cover subjects like the human psyche and even environmental issues.
Composing songs can often be a frustrating process, how do you go about it?
Our guitarist Chris writes the bones of each song, constructing riffs and various structures. We then bring them into the practice space where everyone has an input as to how the song should go or whether anything needs changed. In the past we have learnt that trial and error is the best way to write a song, so every idea we have, we attempt.Due to this, we feel the final product is as good as it can be, which is exactly what we strive for.
What could we expect from one of your live performances?
We put everything into our live performances, whether it be in front of 10 people or 100 people. Whatever the situation we give it our all.
We have received a reputation for being a formidable live band and we our very proud of that.
Plans for the future?
We are currently writing the material for our next release, which we hope to record next year. We are also looking at playing shows in mainland UK late this year or early next year. We are hoping to expand our fan base to more than just Ireland. Achieving a following in mainland Europe would help us achieve our goal of becoming a full time touring band.
What merch do you currently have available and where can we get it?
Currently at our Big Cartel, accessible through our facebook page, we have our EP on sale. We also have a limited edition "Rise To Power" T-Shirt available to preorder.We hope to be adding more to our store in the future.
Any final words?
In the next month or two Dead Aeon will be releasing a couple of special tracks, recorded recently, so keep an eye out!
Self Released 2012
1.Omnicide 2.Mass Culture Theory 3.All Shall Fade
4.Rise To Power 5.Veins Of The Earth
Ireland's Dead Aeon
introduce their debut e.p 'Apotheosis' in a vicious assault of
blackened death metal with opener 'Omnicide' spitting scornfully out
of the speakers from the instant the disc starts spinning. There are
underlying tones of melody to the bands sound, being very Swedish
black/death metal in it's delivery. Harsh scathing dual vocals are
delivered with pure malice over the top of some very well played
blackened extreme metal. Although brutal, this opener sees a mix of
paces being utilised, the song remaining mid-paced throughout much of
its duration. Blast beats are used, and used well, but they never
overpower the song. The opening signs are good for the remainder of
this disc. 'Mass Culture Theory' bursts open in another Swedish
inspired black/death metal assault. The pace to the opening riff
quite frantic. The song then takes on a really menacing sound, with
the pace being dropped right down which allows a brooding atmosphere
to develop the song and sets a really dark tone. The guitars do
sound a lot more sinister here but do still retain their sense of
melody which gives it that 'swedish sound' and the darker atmospheres
are retained well. As with the opener, tempos are mixed well, faster
blast beat laden sections are introduced, but used sparingly and only
when necessary. 'All Shall Fade' begins as the last track left off, a
slower pace being used, the darker sound being utilised well. There
is an almost 'Orchestral' feel to the opening riffs of this track,
sampled orchestra instruments (wind instruments and kettle drums)
being used alongside the guitars which is actually very similar to
Abigor, even though the band don't actually sound like them. There's a
similarity in the use of the orchestral sections, nothing more than
that. Through the use of the higher end tremolo picked guitars and
sampled orchestral instruments, Dead Aeon take on a much more black
metal feel here and given the fact this track is the longest on
offer, it only adds to the more black metal feel and sound.
'Rise To
Power' begins with the slower, darker, more brooding sound heard
earlier but this doesn't last long, harsher blast beat sections are
introduced to add pace and inject a bit of urgency into the song
which to be fair is needed. The band are definitely at their best
when they up the pace, sounding an altogether more menacing band
when they do. Having said that,when they do drop the pace and allow
the dark atmospheres to envelop the songs, there is a real
originality to their sound, especially when the orchestral samples
are then introduced. Final track 'Veins Of The Earth' is another dark
and brooding affair with tempos snapping from blast beats down to a
slower crawl in an instant before introducing the more mid-paced
atmospheric sections, a mix of everything heard so far. This
definitely sounds like the closing track of the e,p, there's a sense
of foreboding, feeling and sounding like this piece of music is going
to be the last thing you hear on this miserable earth. A sense of
trepidation, that something nasty is building. Dead Aeon have
produced a very impressive debut e.p. They have taken quite a while
to get to this point, but good things come to those who wait. Some of
the atmospheres created are remarkably unique, utilising the
'orchestral' sampled sounds very well which only adds to the dark and
menacing sounds being created. There are a variety of influences on
show, Swedish death/black metal being the over-riding sound with
tempos and pace also being varied well and this will probably appeal
to many an extreme metal fan. Well played extreme black/death metal
with a menacing undercurrent of hatred and anguish, 'Apotheosis' is
a valiant effort that definitely deserves your attention.
7.5 out of 10
Band Page: Here
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