1. "Mercy for Today". The music on this is insane. The guitars are running up and down scales, matching the vocals. There are two vocals. High pitched and low pitched. Death and deather. With the exceptions of the drums and the vocals, the music doesn't scream metal. It is kind of just doing its own thing in the background. There is a guitar solo near the end of this one. It's not a guitar solo for the hell of it, it actually works. I'm not a fan of guitar solos, but this one fits perfectly. Good start.
2. "Let Them Hate and Fear". This song starts off with manic instructions from the deep growler. The music is great again. These guys seem to know what they are doing. Ridiculous double bass. Ridiculous guitars. Ridiculous vocals. 2 for 2. Dillinger Escape Plan-ish, but better. Candiria also comes to mind.
3. "The Farthest Reaches". I just went to the Son of Aurelius facebook page, and it says "Technical Death Metal". That description fits. In unrelated news, I started rewatching that TV show Lost.
4. "Olympus is Forgotten". 80s symphony intro. Into all out war. It worked. I didn't think it was going to be a song, just some sort of space-filler. This is an album I'd like to figure out the lyrics too. Jazz guitar over witchman vocals. Man, then they do some crazy guitar gymnastics that slows down into fazed out vocals. Another good track.
5. "Facing the Gorgon". According to Wikipedia, a gorgon is a female creature. The name is derived from the ancient Greek word for "dreadful". Crazy folksy guitar solos in this one. In between metal blasts from hell. Here's a cool cover photo for a British horror film starring Christopher Lee, among others. Never seen the movie.
6. "Pandora's Burden". Didn't really pay attention to the song because I was checking out The Gorgon. It's available on Netflix (disc-only) as a double feature with Scream of Fear. I bumped it up in the queue, so I'll let you know how it is.
7. "A Champion Reborn". More of the same. Seizure-inducing guitars. Matching drums. Kind of an epic guitar solo. Not a fan of the use of epic there, or really anywhere, but this one kind of has an arena death battle, or climbing a big mountain feel to it. Makes sense for a champion being reborn.
8. "Myocardial Infarction". That means heart attack. The music may be trying to cause one. The muscians may experience this one if they ever played this album in its entirety.
9. "The Calm". More 80s cinema inspired music. This one has an 80s-ish guitar riff. It seems to fit on the album as an intermission. I think everyone needed a break for a minute.
10. "A Good Death". Opens with a bass solo. As any good death should? Intermission is definitely over.
11. "The First, the Serpent". This song makes me think of this article. Here's a website of a study that looks to "Advance knowledge of trench and hadal ecosystems, informing stewardship of the deep ocean."
12. "They Have Fallen". This has a majestic feel to it. Short song that feeds right into the next track.
13. "Slaughter the Immortals". The title sums this song up pretty perfectly. It's not a good day to be an immortal. Will anyone survive the battle?
14. "Throne of Broken Gods". Guitars sound like lasers at one point. I'm not sure if it's a continued onslaught of the immortals, or the Gods are striking back. This is an album that needs to be listened to in its entirety.
15. "Feast of Feminine Flesh". This album has blended into something out of Total Recall/Blade Runner. I'm not sure if that's what they were going for, but it works.
16. "Divine Are Slain". I guess the mortals won. But what did they win?
Grade: 5 out of 5 decapitated goats
Top Tracks:
1. Mercy for Today
2. Let Them Hate and Fear
3. A Good Death
This album is great.
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