Author: Primož Novak
Artist: Son Of Aurelius
Label: Self-released
Release: year_month
Length: 72:14
Rating: 5/5
Son Of Aurelius first got on the radar in 2010 with their debut The Farthest Reaches, which showed some potential. It was, after all, just one more technical death metal band, though one that also put the emphasis on melody. You could simply pin them down as a more technical The Black Dahlia Murder. But a lot can change in four years. At first nobody even knew why the band had vanished, but this year they announced a comeback with a new album and a new vocalist.
With the first track they put out, the band mostly just shocked everyone. The music sounded nothing like the debut. Okay, it’s still technical, but now there’s clean vocals, more melody, and an incredibly dynamic rhythm section. It’s such a drastic turn that you could wonder how they got away with releasing this album under the same name. But the more times a listener goes through the record, the more it sinks in that the band has made a real masterpiece. The songs are polished to perfection, and the structures are packed with surprises. Across 72 minutes, which is undoubtedly a hefty length for an album, there’s not a single piece of unnecessary filler. The core of the album is built up with calmer instrumental tracks, which show off the band’s exceptional creativity.
After the intro Return To Arms, Under a Western Sun hits you with Chorus of the Earth, where melodic vocals with a pretty unusual timbre take over. Sure, the melodic singing is the most prominent thing across the whole album, but the guy named Riley McShane has a handle on scream and growl techniques too. The latter really comes into its own on the most brutal track on the record, The Prison Walls. What makes the vocals even more special are the unconventional lines, which, despite the pretty complex music, are woven into the songs in an interesting way. You could compare the style to Tommy Rogers of Between The Buried And Me, and at times a line even recalls Maynard Keenan (Tool), but it has to be said that McShane has an identity of his own and isn’t copying every big name in progressive waters.
Of course, besides the interesting vocals, the other members stand out too. Guitarist Cary Geare delivers standout melodic riffs throughout the album, and fast, technical death metal tricks are certainly no stranger to him, but his sense of melody is far more pronounced. His soloing style is undeniably inventive too, with every solo worked out down to the last detail, which isn’t exactly common in today’s flood of shredders. Bassist Max Zigman keeps highlighting his lines on his fretless bass, which slide around the way they do in many technical bands that take pride in a fretless bass guitar. Drummer Spencer Edwards could simply be labeled an extreme drummer, the kind the US is crawling with. But it has to be stressed that Edwards expertly combines fast death metal playing, where his rapid feet and blast beats stand out, with a style more focused on chopping up rhythms in the vein of drummers like Alex Rudinger and Hannes Grossmann. The instruments listed above still don’t quite capture the essence of the whole album. The band decided to fill the potential gaps with assorted keyboards to give each song a complete sonic picture. A good example is the piano in the title track, which could have closed out the album perfectly if it weren’t for the outro. All of this is, of course, also thanks to the great production.
Under a Western Sun is without a doubt a top-notch achievement. Despite its length it never drags, the songs are varied, and it’s full of unexpected twists. Son of Aurelius chose to take a risk, and only time will tell whether it all pays off. But for a band with some real training behind them, it would have been pointless to stick to the same musical style as on the debut and stifle their natural progress, which is what most bands do today. Son of Aurelius’ second album is a pretty provocative piece of work that has probably let a lot of people down, but it’s also an outstanding achievement that proves a truly unique album can still be made today. The only hope for next time is that we won’t have to wait 4 years for a new album.
Lineup
Max Zigman – bass
Spencer Edwards – drums
Cary Geare – guitar
Riley McShane – vocals
Production
Zack Ohren
Tracklist
1. Return To Arms
2. Chorus Of The Earth
3. The Weary Wheel
4. Coloring The Soul
5. The Stoic Speaks
6. Attack on Praque
7. Flailing Saints
8. A Great Liberation
9. Clouded Panes
10. Blinding Light
11. The Prison Walls
12. Submerge & Surface
13. Long Ago
14. Under A Western Sun
15. Strange Aeons
