EP Review: Aeons of Ashes – “Determination” (Melodic Death Metal)

Written by Valkyrjiaa

Since 2019, Aeons of Ashes have immersed the world in their expansive fantasy experience. From the mesmerizing live shows inspired by their signature interactive Wasteland2570 transmedia project, to their atmospheric interludes and diverse musical amplifications, Ashes of Aeons seek to not only mystify but twist-ify as well.

Formed in 2013 in St. Pölten, Austria, Ashes of Aeons swept up the metal scene with speed and style. With live shows paired alongside the likes of Dark Tranquility and Tristania, the band released their debut album in 2014 titled Shutdown followed by the six-track EP Impatience in 2017. Now, Aeons of Ashes fully embrace their synergetic storytelling creation with part three of their multi-EP storyline, titled Determination, that follows the initial single releases of “Initiation” in 2021 and “Anticipation” from 2022. This in turn brings us deeper into the frightening, yet mysterious universe of Wasteland2570 – bringing post-apocalyptic vibes and fantasy atmosphere into one, cognitive experience.

Wasteland2570 is an immersive art project about a world parallel to our own but set in a fantasty-style, post-apocalyptic universe. Beyond the music, this creation involves a vast amount of story, video, mystery, and ambience with its very own pen-and-paper role-playing aspects included. Fans of fantasy, fiction, metal, and imagination are free to join the “wasteland collective,” where you create your own character and contribute to the world-building experience. It’s a creation that not only brings band members and fans together but, allows them to explore a world tuned to their own choices whether they be magical rituals, fanart, or even cosplay. It’s a brilliant composition that not only gets fans familiar with Aeons of Ashes and their overall vibe, but one that takes the music and the imagination into a realm beyond comprehension. Waking in an unknown world, lost, and utterly alone. What was once law and order is now fractured and stained, and what awaits is an adventure for you to discover.

“F4v5t” slaps us in the face with heated undertones and a variety of melodic riffs. With vocalist Tim Sklenitzka accompanied by the new feverishly talented July Fellner (known within Wasteland2570 as 4LE4), the remarkable synchronicity between male and female growls brings intrigue and delight to the senses. A seamless harmony strums in with infectious chords and dynamic drum beats, it’s a solid introduction to Ashes of Aeons and the element they bring to the metal scene.

The second track, “Ring of St0nes”, begins with a tantalizing instrumental performance that offers a flicker of solace in the drowning darkness. Then the words “I hear this voice I used to know / Look for this face that doesn’t show” paints a cataclysmic wasteland wanderer that still holds to a whisper of strange comfort and acceptance. A movement to keep turning ahead that’s rung true by uplifting melody and insanely speedy beats. It’s as if the hope of rebirth, casting aside the shell of a former reality, is greeted by a familiar blackness all too coincidental in an age of ashes.

The finale to this three-track EP is “Time is a Lie” with Ashes of Aeons‘ signature speedy verses and quick-hitting lyrics that once again embrace their steadfast tuneage. It’s a track that pushes the boundaries that time is merely a construct and we can choose to break the cycle. To “respawn, and be reborn” is to accept a future that we choose, and take a path that we wish to follow. It tackles the frightful cascade of emotions we feel through change, despair, and the lifting of the veil on the unknown. To dream on, adventure forward, and filter out nothing. It’s a melody with seamless harmony once more arising from Tim and 4LE4 that has listeners clinging to verses and yearning for more.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Overall, Aeons of Ashes packs immersion into their verses with depth and simplicity, relying greatly on their performance aspects to breakthrough the numbing stage experience for a take that is entirely their own. Speed and repetition greatly depict their skill set with the occasional burst of instrumental switch and atmospheric change that slowly falls back into the nightmare. The build on the backbone of the Wasteland2570 story thus utilizes their melody and lyrics to encompass not only the lay of the land, per se, but the choices that players, that people, may be required to make in order to move on. It’s worth a look, and maybe stepping into the wasteland will reveal more to you than you’d initially expected.