A collective outfit with membership from Finland and Greece, Aeonian Sorrow traverse a style that while doomy and gothic as a foundation explores outside extreme and melodic facets. In their ten years together, they’ve released two full-lengths and an EP – but what may be considered EP length could be up for debate as 2020’s A Life Without clocks in at almost 36 minutes over its four tracks. From the Shadows is the band’s latest EP outing, another four-song effort that still contains 32 minutes plus of entertainment value to process.
Burly growls courtesy of Joel Notkonen drip in this morose heaviness that labors brilliantly in the death/doom passages for “Whispers in the Dark”, the simplified keyboards haunting next to the crushing guitar chords while Gogo Melone’s clean melodies contrast in ideal beauty versus beast advocation. Opposite elements sit elegantly next to each other to express the mood shifts – one measure you can hear this thunderous blast beat chaos with tremolo runs as well as cascading blackened vocals shattering the sky, then a serene gothic/doom aural landscape where even the snare hits reverberate in soothing tones. Viking-esque accents penetrate the almost nine-minute “Your Blackened Forest”, the slower double kick work of Achilles Papagrigoriou setting the stage for the heavy cavalcade that drives the arrangement, additional spoken word passages delivered in Finnish tongue to heighten the dynamics. Circular spacious keyboards take closer “Mist of Oblivion” into mysterious territory, coupled with possibly the doomiest rhythm guitar underpinning, guest male vocals from Niko Kauhanen (Arctora, Earthblood) adding a third voice to an already alluring growl/gothic mainframe. There’s just something mesmerizing about the way these songs travel in such a way to transport the listener into varied influences – Draconian, My Dying Bride, and early Swallow the Sun evident throughout.
Continually DIY, From the Shadows deserves as much accolades and attention as the veteran acts in the doom/death, gothic metal style who have stronger label support. Aeonian Sorrow understands all the basic trademarks necessary to check every emotional box one could want to hear from these songs – leaving listeners contemplative to discover a life well lived, coming out better in the end.