Review by Vladimir on October 23, 2024.

From the city of Otterberg, Germany, we have a melodic black/death metal band Black Aeons, consisting of two members Blackheart13 and Alex of Silent Watcher Records, both of whom are also active in another band A Somber Funeral. Black Aeons has been around all the way back as far as 2002 but debuted officially for the first time ever in 2022 with their Demos compilation, and as of recently, their first full-length album Entering The Shadows was announced to be released on November 1st, 2024 via Silent Watcher Records, presenting these classic songs in their newly updated forms. Is it worth checking out? Let’s find out, shall we? 

As we enter the shadows with the opening track 'Vive La Mort' and witness nightfall with the follow-up 'Dawn Of A New Time', our nocturnal journey finally begins to unfold in front of our very eyes with Black Aeons soundtrack to this death-defying nightside eclipse. This soundtrack is laden with nightmarishly heavy work of melodic black/death metal that mixes the best of both worlds, presenting a solid hybrid entity of high intensity in the general performance that Black Aeons provides throughout the entire album. When it comes to the overall riff work that combines elements of both melodic black and melodic death metal, it’s definitely got a serious edge to it, especially on a couple of standout examples like 'Ode To Ares' and 'Into Darkness And Decay' that showcase the heaviest and most epic moments on Entering The Shadows. Aside from the usual influences of this style like Dissection, Sacramentum, Unanimated, Dawn, and Lord Belial which can be heard throughout the work of Black Aeons, I also noticed a bit of early 90’s Amorphis from "Tales From The Thousand Lakes" and some of early At The Gates as well, wonderfully mixing various ideas from these great bands that shaped the foundation for melodic extreme metal. A strong dominating factor within the music is the somber atmosphere that adds additional flavor to the intense musicianship and progressive build-up of the album as it draws closer to its grand climax. Although you would think that the acoustic instrumental 'Path To Valhalla' is where it all ends, you would be wrong though because we also have a bonus track 'We Are The Dead' that brings down the last deathly blow before the conclusion descends on us with the last shadow on the black horizon. 

The songwriting that Black Aeons incorporated on Entering The Shadows showcases very rich and complex song structures that keep things interesting at all times, while constantly throwing in some nice melodies here and there to push things further. Generally speaking, this is an overall enjoyable and worthwhile journey with a very decent yet well-executed approach, which doesn’t provide that much, but it’s honest work nevertheless. Even though melodic black/death metal isn’t really a subgenre with that much room left for innovation, especially with all kinds of bands that spawned in recent years, the members of Black Aeons obviously took things seriously with this album, noticeably trying their hardest to find the right balance and make good use of everything they’ve got. As a result, you get a very fine album with a guaranteed good time from start to finish that doesn’t become thin or anticlimactic as it progresses, instead, it manages to slowly build up with every song on the album, until the grim reaper raises his scythe from his obsidian throne. Aside from the music, I really love the blue tone cover art by Misanthropic-Art, which is very reminiscent of the works by Kristian "Necrolord" Wåhlin and even Herbert Lochner who did the artwork for the last two Thulcandra albums, but overall, incredibly fitting to the musical essence of this album. 

All in all, I personally enjoyed the entire output of Entering The Shadows, especially as a longtime fan of Swedish melodic black/death metal who got so hooked into this rich and powerful experience. If you haven’t got the chance to check out the previous works of Black Aeons from Germany, do not be afraid to give this album a go, because I am sure you will also immerse yourselves into its nocturnal beauty. 

Rating: 8.3 out of 10