Assuming you’re on social media, chances are this image has singlehandedly bombarded your feed since Friday. Thanks largely to its eye-catching cover art, amidst an endless sea of one man Bandcamp black metal acts, Draugveil has become the talk of the black metal interweb overnight. I tried giving it a shot to see what all the fuss was about, in hopes of reviewing it for here. They key word there is “tried”. I made it two and a half songs in before coming to the conclusion that this was just more faceless ’90s black metal romanticism, albeit with gothic tinges, which considering the popularity of bands like Tribulation and Unto Others, is probably helping with the overall hullabaloo. In its place, here’s a review of a one man Bandcamp black metal act worthy of your attention.
Those who follow the webzine regularly will recall Aetos flying into our orbit last summer with their, or rather his (Harbinger of Spiritual Suffering, AKA Dan Ozcanli) eponymous EP. It’s hard to believe that it was roughly a year ago, Mr. Harbinger/Ozcanli was telling our group chat about his “new project”. Fast forward 10 months later, and that aforementioned “new project” has returned with EP number two in Ancient Power. All of this, mind you, as we patiently await the third full length from Ozcanli’s main vehicle, Nucleus (It’s been 6 years guys!), but that’s another story for another day.
Similar to its predecessor, Ancient Power is yet another spellbinding show of black metal force, yet peppered with tropes that few would associate with the genre itself, especially for how cliche and pigeonholed it has been for the better part of my lifetime. The EP’s opening “Columns of Fire” is the most straightforward cut, not simply for being the shortest song on here (at 5 minutes and 5 seconds), but thanks to its ripping ’90s black metal attack. Of course, this riff onslaught is riddled with epic arrangement, melodic flourishes, and most importantly, shred-laden outbursts reminiscent of Paul Gilbert or Alexi Laiho, which really makes this project stand ahead of the pack.
The lengthy “Captivating Cold” follows, and lives up to its name. Starting with an icy soundscape of flanged out guitars and hypnotic beats, this 9 minute epic embodies the adventurism that Aetos is all about, unleashing some black metal with a progressive twist. Mind you, at no point during its runtime does “Captivating Cold” ever feeling boring, pretentious, or overblown. We’re kept hanging on the edge of our seats from start to finish, eager to find out what happens next. The same can be said for the closing title track, on which Ozcanli goes full shred-sanity mode. If you thought the first two songs were six string tour de forces, think again. One listen to “Ancient Power” would melt even Yngwie’s sideburns!
If you’re a fan of black metal (or just pretend to be for online clout), progressive musicianship, and guitars on guitars on guitars (with an extra helping of guitars for good measure), Aetos’ Ancient Power is the EP for you. It’s truly wild to hear what this project has accomplished over the course of two mere EPs, and I selfishly hope for a full length in the future. Until then, I guess I’ll just pair Ancient Power and its predecessor, listening to both back to back as a sort of fantasy LP. Yeah, breh? Yeah, breh.
7 out of 10
Label: Independent
Genre: Black Metal
For fans of: Sacramentum, Emperor, Children of Bodom