Rating: 6.8

Country: Sweden

Release Date: 2005

Record Label: Unique Leader

Track list:
1. Cenobites
2. Soulburner
3. Morbid Desire to Burn
4. Biblewhore
5. Forever Nailed
6. Satanic Victory
7. Enchanter
8. Bleeding the False
9. Doorknocker
10. Bow Your Heads
11. I Hate your Existence
12. God Gives Head in Heaven
13. Hell Unleashed

Band Website: Aeon

Aeon - Bleeding The False

Tommy Dahlström - Vocals
Daniel Dlimi - Guitar
Zeb Nilsson - Guitar
Johan Hjelm - Bass
Nils Fjellström - Drums

Satan is super duper awesome. He is the greatest thing since assless chaps, and chin slapping blow jobs. Satan is definitely better than Jesus and he has a cooler crimson costume with a pointy tail and horns when contrasted against the lame tunic of that Christ guy.  Yeah, Satan is my co-pilot and I even have a painting of him in my bathroom right next to Anton LaVey for those days when I need spiritual help wrestling a turd out of my ass. The band Aeon obviously feels the same way and their latest offering Bleeding the False is a musical ode to their red garbed savior that takes the work on their debut EP Dark Order a step further.   

Aeon is from Sweden and they play technical Death Metal in terms of time changes. They perform their music in a blitzkrieg torrent of anti-Christian malice enhanced by the drumming of Nils Fjellström. The drums are at the forefront of the music, but do not overwhelm the rest of the instruments. Fjellström' play is tighter than jeans wrapped around J-Lo's ass. Blast beats pummel the listener, fills and rolls are blurry fast, and the double bass is almost inhuman. Imagine the beginning scene in the movie Saving Private Ryan where the door on the Higgins Boat comes down and a raging torrent of machine gun fire blasts marines before they can set foot on Normandy beach. That is exactly how Fjellström plays the double kick, and it mirrors the methodical carnage blended with uncanny precision he uses to slay all parts of his kit. 

The rest of the music on Bleeding the False amalgamates quick time changes with varying riffage harmony on guitar and bass. A thrashy sound is always present from the guitar, which is guilty of being a bit over produced. The riffing isn't complex being filled with stop start stylization and fastidious timing, but it is catchy thereby inducing the ole head-bang. The bass sounds like guitar and is sort of lost in the slightly vacuous mix. Aeon reminds me of a sped up Exmortem without the epic satanic vibe or production. Guitar wise they have a resonance that is a mixture of the tone from Avulsed, and Vile. Vocally Tommy Dahlström sounds eerily similar to Jonas Renvaktar of Spawn of Possession. Actually, with the exception of the guitar solo's and drumming Bleeding the False sounds much like Spawn of Possession. Still, I don't get the impression that this was intentional and the similarities with Aeon may be due to their jamming in Sweden like Spawn of Possession. Overall Aeon's sound on Bleeding the False is similar to methodically punching some fuckers face till they are knocked out. Afterwards your hand throbs in a pulsating mess of adrenaline and pain, but it was damned satisfactory.

After listening to this album's music 7 or 8 times my gripe with Aeon is associated with their lyrics that I allowed to sink into my brain. No that is not correct; my bitch is that I can understand their lyrics when I hear them sung. I think Aeon went out and bought what Glen Benton would call ‘My Little Satanic Lyric Book.' Then they took all the cheesiest aspects of Satanism from that imaginary poem compilation and put them into their own words for their songs. Now, I'm not one who is looking for enlightenment from lyrics in Metal, and I would go far enough to tell you all that 90% of all Metal lyrics are stupid. Also, I'm atheist, which means I believe in nothing religious. 

Therefore, when I heard Tommy Dahlström belch in the song “Morbid Desire to Burn", “Hail Satan I'm always near, the ultimate fire is here. Flames licking my flesh… FLESH!” I ignored it knowing it was stupid, they got their opinions, and the music on Bleeding the False is solid. Then I skipped to track 12 and heard “God Gives Head in Heaven” that doubles as a chanted chorus and song title. I knew it was dumb, homoerotic, and puny thuggish but I kept listening cause the drums are in insane. After randomly listening to several songs I found all the lyrics moronic. Then I went back to the song called “Bow Your Heads” and that is when it all caved in. The lyrics to the song begin, “I love you Satan. My father, my bride, you show me the right things to do, reject the passion of God. I open myself for you. I can see you inside me; I can feel you inside my veins. You are the energy I need.” This type of lyrical fodder is egregious enough that it makes the tripe penned by Glen Benton with Deicide seem like Nobel Laureate material in literature/poetry. Short of telling you all that the lyrics to this song are gay I will give you all the opportunity to reread them and discern for yourselves what is obvious by looking at certain key concepts like Satan as a bride, and “I can see you inside me.” I'll let you all debate the symbolism of “I open myself for you.”

I think I found an angle that Aeon can use to their benefit. What they should do is pen another song with lyrics of similar fashion to those found on “Bow Your Heads". Then they can call up Aaron Lewis of Staind who could put some acoustic guitar harmonies into the music. Together Aeon, Lewis, and Staind could do a homoerotic duet to Satan where they croon their love and devotion perpetually. Rebellious idiots could run down to the mall to buy the disc and before you know it the album would go platinum. Tee-shirts sporting Satan holding hands with Aeon and Staind could be fabricated and a world tour could go on for years that would rake in ca$h. 

If it seems that I'm making a mockery of these guys, then your perception is not that far off. But recognize that they have made themselves seem foolish with their lyrics and have tainted the music that is found on the disc by penning bogus odes to Lucifer. Besides, if I wanted to hear lame lyrics I'd pick up U2. Considering I like the riffage and drums on this album, my hope is that in their future work they find a means for making their lyrics more brutal that way what they are saying can not be understood even with a lyric sheet. If Vital Remains can be heavy enough vocally to make me ignore the lyrics, so can Aeon. Atmosphere and production on this recording is also a bit lacking. One can feel the thrashy Swedish technicality but it is missing a Lucifer vibe. Perhaps in the future Aeon can improve their musical ambiance to one that is sublimely evil if they are going to stick with the Satanic theme. Bands like Morbid Angel, Summon, Immolation, and even the recent recording by Hacavitz have mostly embodied a malevolent aura that is enticing enough to lure even the most hardened atheist or Christian into its abysmal catacombs. As it stands now I can give these guys credit for their music, but the lyrics on Bleeding the False make this disc mostly un-listenable due to my unstoppable laughter. I think I'll send the disc to the guys at South Park with the hope that they will do a parody of Satanic Death Metal.

April 9th, 2006