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September 3, 2010 |
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01. Scent Of Death
02. Waiting For The Light
03. Blessed Be The Dead
04. Sightless
05. Upon Within
06. Burning
07. Is There
08. Tomorrows Dead
09. Essence Of Black
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Considered as pioneers of the US Doom Metal scene with already five albums to their credit, SOLITUDE AETERNUS have kept their fans waiting for the last eight years before finally releasing their sixth album to date, "Alone". Originally signed to Roadrunner before changing for Pavement Records, this new disc is, like its predecessor, made available on the very dynamic and quality oriented label, Massacre Records. For the people who have been following the career of this band since the beginning, the question could very well have been: Could SOLITUDE AETERNUS ever keep up with the level reached on their previous album, and considered to this day as one of the best Doom Metal gems ever released, "Adagio"?
Normally not a big fan of Doom myself except for a very few items, finding the compositions way too long and going too often in circles, I have to admit that SOLITUDE AETERNUS' new opus lives up to, and even probably exceeds fans' expectations. Creeping its way from your sound systems (despite some songs exceeding the eight and ten minutes benchmarks), SOLITUDE AETERNUS are obviously capable of keeping a strong grip on the listener's attention without any effort whatsoever. Unlike most formations in the same genre, who have opted for Death Metal-like growls in the vocal styles, SOLITUDE AETERNUS remain more traditional in a vibe similar to old timers such as BLACK SABBATH as well as CANDLEMASS in the choice of singer, providing a treat to listeners with the superb voice of frontman Robert Lowe - all accompanied by heavy, hyper-blasting and drums as well as lightning speed guitar solos.
The atmosphere of "Alone" is extremely dark and sinister from the beginning to the end. With a tracks such as the very infectious opener "Scent Of Death", SOLITUDE AETERNUS lay their cards on the table in the most efficient manner: If you are too sensitive for what happens during the next hour and ten minutes, you'd better bug off now rather than taking a chance of suffering an inevitable nervous breakdown as there is no way out from the morbid world of SOLITUDE AETERNUS! Titles like "Blessed Be The Dead" or "Tomorrows Dead" couldn't be more explicit. Yet the music of SOLITUDE AETERNUS remains extremely catchy. However, even a faster track like "Waiting For The Light" doesn't take away the strong creepy feeling developed on this album.
Definitely to be considered as one of the best Doom creations of 2007, "Alone" will live up to the level of SOLITUDE AETERNUS' existing catalog, without any foreseeable difficulty. With no visible compromise in their music, the band has proved that a style, once only meant to be heard and enjoyed by a minority, can from now on be made accessible to a larger audience. This is highly recommended to the Doom aficionados as well as every metalhead on earth. Just make sure when you get it, that you go for the digipack version, which includes the bonus track "Embrace".
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