Review: “Consequences” by Aeons

Nearly two years in the making, “Consequences“, the follow up to 2019 debut album “A Tragic End” from Aeons, a Progressive Technical Metal quintet from the Isle of Man is one that has a lot to live up to thanks to the high bench mark left by its predecessor. The band, who comprise Justin Wallace (Drums), Skippy Hilton (Vocals) and Joe Holland (Bass) with both Si Harvey and Scott Sayer (Guitars and Vocals), have made their name on sublime musicianship in the vein of American counterparts like Veil Of Maya and Born Of Osiris and with these bands seemingly doing no wrong, it is time for Aeons to take a second swing…

…and bring the axe down upon your skull with the addictive Tech-Metal riffs of “Rubicon” with a tasteful sinister edge with swirling gut wrenching down tuned groove and DJent leanings. Alongside that Hilton brings unclean verses and bold clean choruses with sing-a-long sensibility that don’t lose any of the energy of the material while at the same time put Aeons on an interesting trajectory. After a powerful start it’s the beauty in the intricacies of “Hades And Persephone” that wins you over with it’s sublime extended solos and tapping work that is nothing short of mesmerizing in an ascending and strangely life affirming way. It may not have the lower end riffage but it doesn’t actually need them to convey the message while remaining both heavy and energetic at the same time. Introducing buried synth moments “Lighthouse” brings with it plenty of bounce and another face melting solo to the table, which is at this point overflowing with the kind of ideas that should not only make this band a regular at Tech-Fest but also see them supporting bands like Periphery or TesseracT and still comfortably hold their own. What’s really interesting about Aeons is that while they are both a Technical band and a Progressive band, they are not afraid to stretch themselves in other directions for the sake of making a better song. The moody acoustic “Blight” is a prime example of that and with it’s glorious orchestrations it could well be Alice In Chains unplugged on MTV. It’s that good. “Thoughts Of A Dying Astronaut” brings back the heavier sound of the album opener with a little bit of a shock factor following the beautiful acoustic cut with spine juddering DJentisms and unclean vocal savagery while also having its own sense of melody and purpose. Both captivating and enthralling, slows in the later half with polyrhythmic grooves that confirm the bands jaw dropping musicianship is something very special indeed and the transitions between the DJent fuelled Tech and the Progressive are executed with the perfection of magicians, as smooth as a dolphin, as cute as a baby seal. Rolling into Groove Metal territory with a bold chorus “Bloodstains” manages surprise rap scream parts with echoes of bands like Red Method as the clamour for more while rejecting the notion of any kind of border or boundary preventing them from creating what they wish but in “Evelyn” they save their best until last. A Magnum opus in every sense, it brings an off kilter sway while wrapping everything that makes this band great into 688 seconds bursting with both vibrant and destructive qualities. [8/10]

Track listing

1. Rubicon
2. Hades And Persephone
3. Lighthouse
4. Blight
5. Thoughts Of A Dying Astronaut
6. Bloodstains
7. Evelyn

“Consequences” by Aeons is out 10th September 2021 with pre-orders available over at bandcamp