Æthereus – Leiden – Album Review

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We feel sorry for any humble technical death metal band attempting to forge a career (or even get noticed) amidst the current glut of supreme technical beings currently ruling tech death’s vast kingdom. Standards are high and the task is huge….thankfully, Æthereus are more than up to the challenge.

Progressive, dissonant and yet blessed with an ever-present hint of ‘melody’, it’s the likes of “The Living Abyss” which perfectly showcases Æthereus‘ technical audacity and songwriting nous. A mind-blowing epic which moves through a multitude of soundscapes, “The Living Abyss” is Leiden‘s centrepiece; one that is flanked by the more aggressive and direct “Behold, The World Eaters” and Leiden‘s brutally atmospheric title track.

A marked improvement on 2018’s promising Absentia, with Leiden Æthereus are no longer toiling away in the formidable shadow cast by Archspire, First Fragment, Inferi etc. Instead, they’re basking in the light of their own making…..a great start to the technical death metal year! 8/10

Æthereus‘ Leiden was released on January 14th, 2022 via