Aeveron – VVD: Destination Annihilation

AeveronÔÇÿs album ÔÇ£Existential Dead EndÔÇØ is what piqued my attention in 2008. The album is nothing sort of fancy, but the musical ability was there and the instruments spoke for themselves ÔÇô genuine, raw and a lot of potential to be even greater. So, I approached their latest release ÔÇ£VVD: Destination AnnihilationÔÇØ with high hopes, but my expectations were perhaps too great.

Alas, I was not particularly thrilled with ÔÇ£VVD: Destination AnnihilationÔÇØ ÔÇô quite the let down for me. It is drowned in a slew of other melodic black/death metal bands: There are short bursts of cool guitar solos, mostly bland melodeath riffs created in mid-paced tempos. The drums are not dissonant, but are tremendously constant, in their own monotonous way. Thomas Berthel took a handful of risks displaying more clean vocals and experimenting with different variety of tones ÔÇô some were well-formed and some were not so; The hoarse growls no longer retain the intensity and power that made it stand out. The keyboards dwindled in heightening and carrying the overall sound. It does not complement the foundation of the music as effectively, due to omitting the varied components that once suited the guitars and even enhanced their soundscape.

My criticism is out of disappointment that anticipated a non-generic album. Aeveron is composed of exceptionally capable musicians who either became overly critical of their sound ÔÇô resulting in over-polishing, or their passion and energy just seems to have dulled down. I am going to have to pass.