CoC : Edicius - Aeon : Review

Edicius - _Aeon_
(Deadsun Records, 2001)
by: David Rocher (7 out of 10)

French newcomers Edicius' first release strikes me as being a surprising one indeed. Despite claims as unpretentious (and not necessarily promising) as "grinding black metal", this outfit's multi-facetted onslaught has succeeded in landing some form of a rusty meat hook in my mind, which, for a considerable period, had me coming back time after time for another lethal dose of vicious, grinding, atmospheric, mid-paced, black metal. Intrigued? _Aeon_ definitely had me feeling that way -- at a first listen, Edicius' sound insanely fast and blatantly mean, but also predictable and unappealing, owing to their harsh, cybernetic sound and chaotic songwriting. However, as _Aeon_ unfolds, distinctly vicious numbers such as "Gothic Breed", chunks of frenzied, grinding fierceness such as "Bledemon" or "By Cold Anger" are somewhat subdued by atmospheric counterparts such as the very Norwegian-sounding "Tremendous Unknown", or the synth-laden interlude "At Mo S pHereS". This contrasted variety of styles is both _Aeon_'s strength and weakness: much as this first attempt proves to be as efficient as it is addictive, at some point, it unmistakably turns out to lack consistency, which leaves me to dwell on a weird impression of listening to some annoyingly unfinished, albeit extraordinarily efficient, chunk of totally extreme, warlike metal -- I guess the oft-shifting production, added to Edicius' totally underground/rehearsal approach, only comforts this peculiar feeling I am left with. However, I find myself more attracted to the unearthly blackness and sheer harshness that emanate from every obscure corner in this recording than I ever expected to be, and can therefore only recommend that fans of extremist musical aggression cast an attentive ear upon Edicius.

[Paul Schwarz: "French extreme metal has a curious but pleasing tendency to be quite at odds with what is going on in the rest of the scene. Though _Aeon_ could vaguely be fitted into the "black metal" genre, this isn't because it is a stylistic doppelganger of the "black metal" style, developed or in its raw form. _Aeon_ likens itself to early black metal because it captures a sound that refuses to let you get comfortable."]

(article published 14/1/2002)