Band: Aeon
Title: Path Of Fire
Label: Metal Blade Records
Distribution: Rough Trade Benelux.
Release date: May 21st 2010
Review: CD

When the Swedish band Defaced Creation was put to rest – we’re 1999 – some of the members decided to continue their musical explorations under the banner of Aeon. Necropolis Records released the band’s demo-MCD, and in 2005 the first official full length, Bleeding The False, got released through Unique Leader. Soon after, Aeon went on tour with Cannibal Corpse, and then the band signed to major Metal Blade, with Rise To Dominate as first result (2007) of this collaboration. This album can be considered the formation’s break through, partly due to the assistance of Dan Swanö behind the desk. Next was a new successful tour, with Misery Index and Hate Eternal, and the band started writing new material.
Recently, Aeon started recording some of these new pieces they wrote, and they were able to have it all mixed by friend and colleague Erik Rutan at the famous Florida-based Mana Recording Studio (think Vital Remains, The Funeral Pyre, The Absence, Cannibal Corpse, Paths Of Possession and so on).
In the vein of Rise To Dominate, Path Of Fire is a monumental collection of Swedish-oriented Death Metal terror with both an old school approach as well as a universal (especially USDM) direction. Of course the assistance of Hate Eternal / Morbid Angel / Alas’ Erik Rutan can explain this approach, yet it was the case too when talking about Aeon’s former recordings.
Path Of Fire, which lasts for forty two minutes, is as energetic and intense as the former full length, combining an early nineties’ point of view with a modern touch of dynamics, and the uncompromising song structures and heavy performance seem to pay tribute to the ulterior classics within the genre. But unfortunately the whole sounds less inspiring and less varying. No, it doesn’t mean that all songs sound alike. I just miss some more persuasion???
But, it doesn’t matter that much. Like both former full lengths, this blaspheme sonic attack is of a high quality and it will please (almost) every fan of Swedish, North-American, as well as ‘trans-European’ (read: Belgian / Spanish / Norwegian / Danish / Dutch / Czech) Death Metal.

84/100

Ivan Tibos.