Review by Felix on December 7, 2019.

Gemany’s black metal bands are usually damned to stay in the shadow. The great names of the scene still mostly originate from Scandinavia, maybe Poland, maybe Quebec. Aeba created five (or six, if we take Im Schattenreich… into account too) albums without managing a successful breakthrough. The final statement was the epically titled Nemesis, Decay of God’s Grandeur. As if often the case, I am listening to a pretty good Teutonic attack of blackness, but unfortunately some weapons of the aggressors are blunt. I want to love or to hate black metal, but the opener just begins and ends without leaving any kind of aroma. A little bit more determination would have been fine, although the band avoids severe errors.

“Leitwolf” with its insanely echoing background voice and the heavyweight guitars shows more passion. No doubt that there is still a fire burning. Aeba come with the great cannons and the flattening riffs coalesce with tinges of demonic melodies. The defenders fall one by one and the double bass does the rest. Really a great song with a threatening atmosphere, but what a pity, this is rather the exception than the norm. Either way, it illustrates the might of the production. Nemesis… sounds like a beast of prey that is scenting its victim – but sometimes, it is just too lazy to make the best out of this promising situation. Or, in less metaphoric words, the song material cannot reach the quality level of the technical implementation.

Generally speaking, the dudes serve the wishes of the target group. The aesthetics of the subgenre do not come off badly and there is also nothing to grumble in terms of the technical abilities. However, I miss a more individual touch. This would have been an adequate work at the beginning of the second wave in order to set the course, but it’s not that exciting in 2019 and the same applies for the time of its publication, 2012. The album passes by and there can be no doubt that Aeba tried to impress with meticulously created compositions in view of the non-conventional song patterns. Yet too many sections fail to develop a personality. The riffs are solid, but not outstanding, the majority of the melodic sequences does not mirror the desperate fatalism that the masterpieces of the genre showcase. Some songs are simply too long. “Where I Am There Is No God” does not lack substance, but too many more or less good ideas lead to a somewhat ill-defined overall picture.

Aeba’s Kodex V was a truly vile work. In comparison, Nemesis… does not overflow from nasty emotions and even though there is no throwaway track, the album does not have the special flair it needs to block the place in my CD player. The closer, simultaneously the final song of the band members, shows Aeba’s potential for the last time, especially during the furious parts and the guitar work during the instrumental section that begins at 3:40. Anyway, I manly accept the split of a band that never really left the Schattenreich.

Rating: 6.6 out of 10