Sulphur Aeon - Gateway to the Antisphere (2015)

As fond as I've grown for the older school death metal aesthetics that initially won me over to the genre in the 80s, and the acts that today continue to refine and redux those specific traits, there's something to be said for a band that doesn't strictly rest on the laurels of its genre. Sulphur Aeon is one such band, and within the span of a single decade has risen to stand alongside groups with three times the lifespan behind them; a new bastion of production, professionalism, and style which has become a thing unto itself. That's not to say you can't trace individual components of the Germans' sound back to some of the usual suspects, but it's how they intertwine elements of classic and brutal death metal, black metal, and even melodic death into a daunting, unified whole that gives them a near limitless arsenal of weaponry at their disposal.

Perhaps less distinct is that they tackle the popular subject of cosmic horror, the Lovecraft Mythos in particular, but they've definitely got a focus on the more post-apocalyptic approach vector. The Old Ones have already arrived, their cataclysmic destruction being wrought upon both mankind and nature itself, or at least this is what is captured in the songwriting. Their extraordinary debut Swallowed by the Ocean's Tide definitely had the aquatic/R'lyeh vibe going for it, but here, like the Ola Larsson cover artwork splendidly depicts, they're stretching their tentacles between sea and stars. Musically, it doesn't diverge a great deal from its predecessor, but Gateway to the Antisphere certainly plays around with a greater range of dynamics, from slower, roiling, rumbling atmospheric rhythms to thundering blast sequences which put them right on the same level of finesse as veteran groups like Behemoth, Septic Flesh, Morbid Angel, Nile and Vader which could all be considered peers in terms of skirting the sweeping, epic parameters of death metal's entire potential. Tracks like "Calls from Below" or "He is the Gate" lay it on thick, there is constantly something interesting going on...Daniel Dickmann's frenetic bricklaying, sheens of melodies in the guitars that contain both elements of Eastern influence and beyond, Martin's guttural dominance and sustained growls that mange to have just enough personality where he doesn't feel generic.

Gateway to the Antisphere feels like the aural accompaniment to a plane larger than this or any other, one of controlled primordial chaos machinated by minds older than the universe. A symphony of punishment and suffering. It's not the creeping dread and despair you might expect from a Lovecraft story, but the end-state of having the gates of reality blown apart and all humanity put to knee before its new masters that they cannot comprehend. It's not insanely complex when it comes to individual compositions, but once you weave this all together it's just a magnificent devastating force that maintains a fair degree of musicality amidst all of its violence. All told, I didn't think this one quite as catchy as the debut, but more balanced in tempo and presentation and thus nearly on the same level due to such well-roundedness. The lyrics are good, the packaging impressive, and there's really no expense spared to create a formidable sophomore that is worth every penny. Fans of the aforementioned bands, or others like Mithras and Heaving Earth, should make this one mandatory to at least check out, and really anyone into any mixed concentration of extreme metal and cosmic horror should follow suit.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (scolding summonings at night)

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Sulphur Aeon - Swallowed by the Ocean's Tide (2013)

H.P. Lovecraft and his morbid mythos are hardly a novel theme running in metal these days, and in fact a multitude of songs and entire concept albums have paid tribute through either direct translations of he and his followers' tales, or creative interpretations, across just about all the sub genres, from heavy and doom to black and death metal. So the gorgeous cover artwork and title to Sulphur Aeon's debut Swallowed by the Ocean's Tide are quite overt in their inspiration, as are the solemn chants through the intro piece "Cthulhu Rites", but I really have to hand it to these Germans: this is by far one of the best albums to date to represent the beloved horror author, because it does it so distinctly and differently from almost anyone else...

Sulphur Aeon is at its squamous, withering core a guitar and drum-heavy death metal trio, but the approach they take to the medium is frankly refreshing in the muddy wake of so many chasm-defiling Incantation clones, Swede-a-likes, and so forth. You could consider this old school, fast-paced death with loads of broiling tremolo harmonies and blast beats, threaded with chugging grooves and streaming, fluid picking progressions that hint of melodeath, but pointing out precise influences become more complicated. I sort of thought of it as a hybrid of ominous Morbid Angel growls and grooves with (Devin Townsend's) Ocean Machine in terms of that overwhelming sense of texture to the production which really encapsulates this forsaken, maritime menace. But even this doesn't exactly describe the structure of the guitars, which occasionally reminded me of the thick textures in modern Hypocrisy riffing. Depth charge kick drums, roiling, rich guitar tones and a voluminous, deep bass to the production create a suspense in the listener that he or she is being pressurized on all sides by the brine, Deep Ones pulling at his/her legs as they pull their victim to the ruins on the ocean floor. All the while, waves of ambiance cascade across the background of the riffs like fleeting pods of whales.

Many concept albums of this nature (in extreme metal, at least) have gone for a creepier, abstract vibe, which does play strongly to the atmosphere of the Mythos, but these Germans clout you and squeeze you with a suffocating majesty that works just as well. Think of this more as the 'reckoning' once the Old One has awakened, and not the chain of mysterious psychological events leading up to it. The cultists won, and now a fucking tsunami of tentacles lashes out infectiously through the sheer force of the presentation and balanced, muscular riff set that dominates at least the first half of the record. In fact, the first five full tunes here are utterly perfect. From the melodic swerves of "Incantation" to the black-metal inflected chords of the title track, I was completely floored and flooded by what was happening. It's only a little deeper in the track list, with tunes like "Those Who Dwell in Stellar Void" or "Beneath.Below.Beyond.Above" that it ever starts to feel redundant, that the well of ideas here has dried up ever so slightly. Even then, however, the band is still mightily consistent in sound, and the closing march "Zombi" with its sheen of glimmering wave-like melodies is a nice reprieve from the near 40 minutes of 'the bends' one might suffer from the heavier material's ballistic decompression.

Other than this marginal dive in quality as it progresses, Swallowed by the Ocean's Tide is unquestionable phenomenal. The production might prove too dense and saturated for some who like a lo-fi, stripped sound to their death metal instrumentation, but if you're open to the added weight of studio layering, this proves a wonderful proof of concept that really fits its artwork and theme. The vocals of 'M' Martin Hellion are not exactly novel for the field, a gruff guttural not unlike you'd expect from Nile or Tucker-era Morbid Angel, but I can't think of anything else that would have been able to hold it's own against the glorious oppression of the guitars. Ultimately, this just has everything I desire in a 21st century death metal outing. It draws upon a wealth of both old school and newer inspirations, it really doesn't sound 100% like anything else I've been listening to, and Sulphur Aeon exhibit a seasoned grasp of songwriting aesthetics: concise, heavily loaded with riffs that stick, and never boring. It might front load some of its otherworldly, amphibious thrills, but its truly a work of resonant, heart-stopping ferocity from the fathoms. Highly recommended, and not just to fish people.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

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