AETERNAM Al Qassam

It’s no secret that I’ve been a big fan of Aeternam since the release of their debut album ‘Disciples Of The Unseen’ back in 2010, and I still consider the ‘Moongod’ album among my favorite death metal albums of the last two decades. Their third album ‘Ruins Of Empire’ was a worthy follow up to ‘Moongod’ as well, so these guys have never released anything but pure quality. Therefore I was quite excited when Aeternam frontman Achraf sent me a copy of their latest effort a few days ago for an early review, so let’s just get down to business. First of all, ‘Al Qassam’ sounds unmistakable Aeternam, so no big surprises here stylistically, which in my opinion is a good thing. Instead they seem to have focused on refining their already quite unique sound which is beautiful blend of melodic/technical death metal, folk music and middle eastern influences, and the result is probably their most varied, pompous and atmospheric album to date. You can easily hear that a lot of attention has been spent on details in the writing, arranging and recording process, all with the clear intention of getting the maximum potential out of each song while avoiding to fall into the trap of being a show-off in technical skills despite their indisputable talent as musicians. As on the previous albums both growling, screaming and clean vocals are used in a perfect blend that suits the material perfectly. ‘Al Qassam’ is blessed with a powerful and crystal clear production with the help of the amazing mixing and mastering skills of Christian Donaldson (well known for his work on excellent sounding albums from among others Shadow Of Intent, Beyond Creation, Ingested and The Agonist). All nine tracks on the album are premium quality without a single weak moment in sight, and the all over atmosphere, the variation, the details, the beautiful melody and harmony lines alongside the aggressive, hard riffing death metal foundation makes ‘Al Qassam’ Aeternam’s best album to date and a serious contender to the album of the year title as well. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this epic album when it hits the stores om March 27^th.

Discography;

Al Qassam (2020)

Ruins Of Empire (2017)

Moongod (2012)

Disciples Of The Unseen (2010)