The adoration for 1990s death metal doesn’t seem to be losing steam, and why should it? The formative years that boasted the likes of Morbid Angel, Suffocation, Immolation, Bolt Thrower, and so many others continue to spawn new species in the death metal terrain that connect roots with one or more of the progenitors.
Finnish death metal maulers Aedes smash a whole lot of bloody affection for that era on their debut mini-album “Odius Imprecation,” originally released digitally last fall and now getting a physical version via Blood Harvest. Over a ferocious and skull-dragging 25 minutes, the band—vocalist Riku Ryynänen, guitarists Antti Luoto and Juha-Matti Ojanperä, bassist Atte Roppola, drummer/synth player Marten Gustafsson—centers itself square in the graveyard, with cauldrons steaming, bloody pathways following.
“Heretical Birth” begins thrashy with gruff vocals, the playing decimating with blazing speed. The battering continues as ash piles up dangerously, swimming in flames as the howls echo and mash, leaving infernal punishment waiting for you. “Portraits of Hell” crushes as guitars race, the screams corroding. The playing turns grim and doomy, the vocals scraping as guitars spiral, atmospheric agony choking with strange visions, a fiery outro consuming as the drums menace with hellish intent. “Merging Into Madness” dawns with insects swarming, guitars channeling fear, and then a seismic charge pushes into chaos. Harsh, beastly howls dig under the rib cage while spacey keys emerge and add a cooling agent, letting the cleaner tones make your brain tingle. But the violence returns, unleashing a grisly pace that chews muscle, driving through mystical fury that makes you feel insane. Closer “Cosmic Void Decay” chugs and swims through glass, the vocals turning animalistic, raw, and blistering, jabs making greater impact. The smeary doom has a Celtic Frost feel, meanwhile the leads erupt as scathing, nightmarish reality unfolds, the mesmerizing clean lines making blood go cold, a final blast of drubbing loose teeth from jaws.
For those who didn’t get on board with Aedes’ debut mini-album “Odius Imprecation” later in 2024, now is your chance to indulge in more 90s death metal worship that sounds like it belongs with that vintage. It’s grim, punishing, and at times spacey, giving a lot of different directions they can pursue deeper as they continue to develop as a unit. This wider release should help expose them to more like-minded people who don’t mind stomping through the muck to get the death barrage they desperately seek.
For more on the band, go here: https://aedesmetal.bandcamp.com/album/odious-imprecation
To buy the album, go here: https://shop.bloodharvest.se/
For more on the label, go here: https://www.bloodharvest.se/
Meat Mead Metal 