Review by Adam M on October 27, 2016.

This Ihsahn album is a return to form for the veteran after a slightly disappointing previous effort in Das Seelenbrechen. It shows him writing less experimental and more to the point songs that ring true of the couple of albums previous to that one. There is still some saxophone usage, but it is held in check by more focused and controlled song-writing.

The most experimental track on here is South Winds and it is a largely successful effort because it is held by a rhythmic backbone of the type that was lacking on his last album. Otherwise, Celestial Violence is a highlight with it’s building crescendo of excellence. The standout tracks on this album are not that highly placed above the remainder of the excellent tracks, however. There is more quality and consistency to be found on this album than the last. The tracks have a memorable aspect that is more akin to the days of Eremita and After. This is because of the aforementioned rhythms. There isn’t an off-kilter, all over the place approach, but simply more focus and drive. The songs seem more normal sounding than the previous work, which is another highlight of the work. There is simply a more palatable approach at hand. Still, I think this album loses a little bit of steam when compared with Eremita or After. There were so many memorable moments on those discs that it’s difficult to recapture the magic and makes the album a slight step down. It’s still another excellent entry to the canon of Ihsahn, but doesn’t have the impact of his best works. The slight taste of disappointment is alleviated by the mostly good song-writing, however.

Arktis. is a solid work that takes ingredients from his best works and puts them into a blender with the icy cold nature of the new songs and creates something compelling.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by JD on November 10, 2008.

I am having a severe case of deja-vu from hell here, and not the good kind either.... I can’t believe what the hell I am hearing here!! Perhaps I need to take the time and explain more here. Allow me to elaborate for you my metal brethren.

Aggregate is the name of the band, "Feel The Pain" is the title of the CD. That is the last original thing I can say about the band. Going for the truth here... this CD is a blatant ripping off of bands, to the point of being shocking.

The band has not even tried to cover up the fact that they almost have ripped-off riffs from such Metal notables as old school Metallica, the immortal Celtic Frost and even in spots they cookie cutter Pantera to the point that the music has become pretty much laughable. They then try to put second rate death growling vocals over it all to cover it up... is just plainly sad. Even the bands logo on the front of the CD is so close to the logo of Canadian Metal Legends VoiVod, it is clearly a rip off attempt.

When you hear the lyrics, they are not rip offs... but they are a serious cry for help. The Cookie Monster from Sesame Street could write better lyrics here. The little blue monster from the classic Children’s program might have the street cred to do it, sadly the band Aggregate does not.

Aggregate - "Feel The Pain" is one album purely and simply to avoid at any cost. I feel the pain, and it is on their album!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 2
Atmosphere: 2
Production: 4
Originality: 1
Overall: 2

Rating: 2.2 out of 10