With some recorded material under their belt the guys added the final piece to their line up, former Animosity guitarist Chase Fraser. Chase had already experienced multiple worldwide album releases and relentless touring around the earth throughout his time in Animosity. With Chase on board the line up was now complete and the band was ready to record a full length album. The guys knew there was only one studio and one man to be at the helm of their full length, so they once again teamed up with producer Zack Ohren at Castle Ultimate Studios. The band knew they wanted to write music that pushed the boundaries of heavy metal and challenge the depth of songwriting in the extreme death genre.
It only takes a few seconds into the first track to pick up on the complexity and sheer brilliance of the musicianship. Perhaps the biggest nod to the songwriting for Son of Aurelius is that they never get lost in the overindulgence of shredding that tends to plague so many bands that lean towards the progressive and technical side of metal. There is hook and moments of melody that blend perfectly with the all out attack of musicianship. No part ever feels contrived or randomly thrown in just for the sake of change. When the guitars take over and lead the charge it is done so with sincerity. When a hook kicks in it is a complement to the song structure and lets the listener settle in for the ride. The cherry on the top for the recording session was getting Alan Douches on the job for the mastering. Alan has worked with some of the titans of heavy metal including Mastodon, Shadows Fall, Cannibal Corpse, and The Black Dahlia Murder. Having Alan place his touch on the recordings gives the material the proper sonic burst it deserves.
With the new album titled “The Farthest Reaches” ready to be introduced to the world by Good Fight Music on Tuesday April 13th 2010, the band plans to embark on a schedule of relentless touring. With a live show that focuses on equal parts accuracy and audience engagement, it is a performance formula sure to win over the hearts of metal fans throughout the world. Like their namesake did many centuries ago, Son of Aurelius are poised to leave their own mark on history.
So it looks like the next big thing in tech-death hail from Santa Cruz, California and go by the name of SON OF AURELIUS. For a group of dudes that got together with the intention of being a recording project barely a year ago and not rounding out the lineup until shortly before recording their debut full-length late last year, this band is actually pretty damned impressive. In addition to SOA's ability to shred the ever-loving shit out of their instruments, they manage to squeeze some songwriting out of their shreddery; a feat often left unaccomplished in tech circles.
Far be it from me to get sucked into the spinning gears of a hype machine when it comes to a group of heavily pushed youngsters, but there's quite a bit about "The Farthest Reaches" to get excited about. In thirty-six minutes, SOA churns out eleven tracks of high-caliber, prog-infused, melody-injected tech metal that ranks right up there with releases from THE FACELESS and THE BINARY CODE. Guitarists Cary Geare and Chase Fraser (ex-ANIMOSITY) provide several moments of speed-addled fret wizardry, but also know just when to say when and break away into tuneful sections of melodeath or classically-inspired lead runs. While much of their faster stuff comes across much like ORIGIN or OBSCURA, depending on the situation, brief tempo shifts, off-kilter grooves and stop-n-go riffing not only prove effective, but also show a band intent on not being label as a clone of others playing this style. That being said, this is an album that falls solidly under the tech-death umbrella and there are a few familiar elements going on here. Vocalist Josh Miller, despite a skilled set of pipes that are capable of volleying between shriek and growl without a second thought, has a style very reminiscent of THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER's Trevor Strnad and others that follow that path. Do his vocals work for the music behind them? Yes, very well, but if I had to pick one thing on this album that was "par for the course," this would be it.
Given that bassist Max Zigman spent time at Berklee, it's no wonder that "The Farthest Reaches" is mixed in a manner that sees him almost as predominately featured as the guitars. His somewhat rubbery and mid-rangy tone enables him to stick his neck out there, so to speak, without muddying up the mix when the BPMs are at maximum. The overall combo of tones provides for some very cool moments, especially on the doomy section of "Pandora's Burden". Drummer Spencer Edward is no slouch either with his feet of fury and rhythmic precision, I just with the inherent clickiness of his drum sound didn't cause him to get buried beneath the onslaught of guitars.
Obviously, tech-heads and fans of new-school death are going to go nuts about SON OF AURELIUS and it wouldn't surprise me to see them pick up more than a few fans from other walks of life along the way. I do, however, have to question whether or not the hurried way in which they lit up will cause them to be a flash in the pan. Complexly penned, yet listenable tunes like "Facing The Gorgon" and "Mercy For Today" lead me to believe that this is a band with the ability to mature and push the boundaries of tech to new places, but they do have a ways to go before they can completely break free from comparisons of their comrades. For now, I'm content with enjoying the hell out of the talent they've displayed thus far.
Far be it from me to get sucked into the spinning gears of a hype machine when it comes to a group of heavily pushed youngsters, but there's quite a bit about "The Farthest Reaches" to get excited about. In thirty-six minutes, SOA churns out eleven tracks of high-caliber, prog-infused, melody-injected tech metal that ranks right up there with releases from THE FACELESS and THE BINARY CODE. Guitarists Cary Geare and Chase Fraser (ex-ANIMOSITY) provide several moments of speed-addled fret wizardry, but also know just when to say when and break away into tuneful sections of melodeath or classically-inspired lead runs. While much of their faster stuff comes across much like ORIGIN or OBSCURA, depending on the situation, brief tempo shifts, off-kilter grooves and stop-n-go riffing not only prove effective, but also show a band intent on not being label as a clone of others playing this style. That being said, this is an album that falls solidly under the tech-death umbrella and there are a few familiar elements going on here. Vocalist Josh Miller, despite a skilled set of pipes that are capable of volleying between shriek and growl without a second thought, has a style very reminiscent of THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER's Trevor Strnad and others that follow that path. Do his vocals work for the music behind them? Yes, very well, but if I had to pick one thing on this album that was "par for the course," this would be it.
Given that bassist Max Zigman spent time at Berklee, it's no wonder that "The Farthest Reaches" is mixed in a manner that sees him almost as predominately featured as the guitars. His somewhat rubbery and mid-rangy tone enables him to stick his neck out there, so to speak, without muddying up the mix when the BPMs are at maximum. The overall combo of tones provides for some very cool moments, especially on the doomy section of "Pandora's Burden". Drummer Spencer Edward is no slouch either with his feet of fury and rhythmic precision, I just with the inherent clickiness of his drum sound didn't cause him to get buried beneath the onslaught of guitars.
Obviously, tech-heads and fans of new-school death are going to go nuts about SON OF AURELIUS and it wouldn't surprise me to see them pick up more than a few fans from other walks of life along the way. I do, however, have to question whether or not the hurried way in which they lit up will cause them to be a flash in the pan. Complexly penned, yet listenable tunes like "Facing The Gorgon" and "Mercy For Today" lead me to believe that this is a band with the ability to mature and push the boundaries of tech to new places, but they do have a ways to go before they can completely break free from comparisons of their comrades. For now, I'm content with enjoying the hell out of the talent they've displayed thus far.
01. Mercy for Today
02. Let Them Hate and Fear
03. The Farthest Reaches
04. Olympus Is Forgotten
05. Facing The Gorgon
06. Pandora's Burden
07. A Champion Reborn
08. Myocardial Infarction
09. The Calm
10. A Good Death
11. The First, The Serpent
02. Let Them Hate and Fear
03. The Farthest Reaches
04. Olympus Is Forgotten
05. Facing The Gorgon
06. Pandora's Burden
07. A Champion Reborn
08. Myocardial Infarction
09. The Calm
10. A Good Death
11. The First, The Serpent
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