This is the second album from Greek melodic death metallers Aetherian.
At Storm’s Edge contains 43 minutes of well-executed professional melodic death metal. Aetherian clearly know their style well, and have produced an enjoyable album that hits the spot nicely.
While reminiscent of acts such as Dark Tranquillity and Insomnium, Aetherian have a bite that’s their own. The melodic death metal tag is sometimes a misleading one, but on At Storm’s Edge there’s a decent amount of actual death metal, with blast beats and growls, which forms the core of the music. Eschewing the cleanly sung chorus approach, Aetherian instead opt to build rich melodic structures on sturdy death metal foundations, resulting in an album that’s unexpectedly moreish.
The music is well-written and balances thunderous heaviness with bright melodies quite effectively. Across the songs you’ll find aggressive tones and harsh vocals that mix freely with expressive leads and epic atmospheres. A range of hooks and memorable moments are skilfully used by Aetherian to hold the listener’s attention, and the impression is of a band that deal in quality material.
I like that despite its obvious accessibility, this is on the more metallic and heavier side of the style. Aetherian have unleashed a melodic death metal monster that’s easy to like and effortless to enjoy. Satisfying and rewarding, if you’re a fan of the style the I heartily recommend At Storm’s Edge to you.
Wonderbox Metal 