Aeons – Consequences

Aeons – Consequences
Release Date: 10th September 2021
Label: Independent
Bandcamp
Genre: Progressive Metal, Groove Metal.
FFO: Opeth, Born Of Osiris, Deafheaven, Veil Of Maya, Meshuggah.
Review By: Ryan Shearer

Everyone loves an underdog story. Rocky Balboa? “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”. I mean, it’s in the name! Progressive metal has gotten a new underdog in the form of Isle of Man band Aeons. Their second album Consequences is a self-released, 7-track album promising rich melodies and mighty riffs. Will Aeon’s latest offering make us suffer the consequences? Thankfully, there isn’t much suffering at all.

Consequences starts with Rubicon, and Meshuggah stylistic choices leak through the cracks. The chromatic runs and quick rhythmic shifts form the foundation for a balls-to-the-wall opening track. There is an enjoyable groove acting as the song’s backbone and a solid clean vocal chorus.

Hades and Persephone is diverse in its sound and where the album begins to live up to the ‘progressive’ on Consequences’ genre badge. It begins off brooding and dark, evolving into something warmer and more prog rock-ish before slapping down the groove again. Blight is a complete change into an acoustic, Opeth-esque metal ballad. The heaviness bleeds through from the tone and percussion; it’s a mid-album risk that pays off. 

Thoughts Of A Dying Astronaut dials the heavy back up to 11, with an intricate and impressive main riff and a tasty, well-executed solo amidst the chaos. Bloodstains’ (and yes, I’m very aware I just reviewed Spiritbox, but hear me out) sounds eerily compositionally similar to Spiritbox’s Holy Roller until the chorus. I’ll not focus too much on this comparison; it twists into a visceral, nu-metal inspired beast with sprinklings of industrial.

Evelyn is your standard progressive metal closing track in all the best ways. It’s an auditory journey for 11 and a half minutes, with strange sampling, satisfying crescendos and rip-roaring vocal lines over technical guitars. 

Credit should be given where it is due; for an unsigned band the production isn’t bad at all. Consequences doesn’t have the polish of contemporaries like Between the Buried & Me or Haken, but there aren’t any clear issues such as a bad mix or lacking low-end. Si Harvey and Scott Sayer on guitar really hold nothing back with their fantastic skill and intricate polyrhythmic grooves. The vocals aren’t bad or out of tune, but the cleans lack power that some of the melodies demand, especially noticeable on Lighthouse.

An issue often faced by bands creating similar music to Aeons is that with such a rich and wide offering on display, motifs and ideas don’t stick around long enough to be memorable. Consequences strafes both sides of the fence. Blight is a good example of when sticking with one approach pays off and Thoughts Of A Dying Astronaut’s brutality will stick with you. There are transitional moments (especially during Rubicon & Hades and Persephone) that feel jarring and don’t progress as naturally as other parts do. Thoughts Of A Dying Astronaut’s mid-section shows, when they focus on creating smooth transitions between sections, Aeons can really nail it. 

Aeons, our underdog heroes, have created an enjoyable album in Consequences. It isn’t quite enough to contend with the big hitters of the genre and sit amongst the greats that likely inspired it, but it is a substantive and impressive 45 minutes of music from the Isle of Man quintet that they should be hugely proud of. They’re certainly a band worth keeping an eye on as, like a fine wine, Aeons will only get better with time.

(3.5 / 5)