Review Summary: Balearic quintent continue to raise ecological awareness, as they extend the melodic death metal umbrella with their sophomore album.
“The Negationist” is Aeolian’s sophomore album, after releasing "Silent Witness" back in 2018, and details their environmental concerns and the disastrous impact the human race has had on ‘Mother Nature’ over 11 pulsating songs.
The album starts us off on this ecological journey with "Momentum", which gives an early indication as to what to expect from the album as a whole. The pounding drums hit you from the get-go, accompanied by the fast tremolo riffs. Ironically, the song loses its way a little bit around the 1:20 mark when the pace changes with, what I can only describe as, a ‘rock’ guitar solo. However, it soon gathers pace again and the melodic rhythm is maintained throughout.
"We Humans" gives a misanthropic reflection on the human race (“We are the locusts that destroy and burn”) as the song is carried all the way through by it’s great melodies and a snappy guitar solo, but the next two tracks is where the album seems to stumble. "Animals Burned" kept making me want to press the skip button until it reached mid-way as it changed tempo with an acoustic break and harmonious backing vocals. However, after a promising middle it resorted back to type. Meanwhile, "Unseen Enemy" opens up with an acoustic introduction and despite a very unexpected but welcome ‘rocky’ guitar solo (which actually works better than the solo on the opening track), it still failed to impress me.
However, the previous two songs just seem like a blip as we are provided with probably the most powerful and standout tracks on the album. "Blackout" opens up with a Rob Halford-esque squeal and the vocals throughout the song are totally different from anything else you'll hear on the album, which clearly displays the talent that lead singer Daniel Perez has in his locker. Just when you think that the track couldn't get any better, we are treated to a score of atmospheric violins to see us out. And then comes along "Golden Cage" with its anthemic chorus and blistering guitars melded nicely with a hint of folk-ish melody.
The promising start to the second half of the album is let down by "Bleeding Garbage". The song really doesn't have any sustenance and comes across as very repetitive. Definitely a filler track for me, which went on for way too long.
"The Flood" more than makes up for the previous track, with Perez's vocals yet again on display here as he switches between guttural and melody with ease. Halfway through the song the tempo changes as a surprising guitar solo presents us with a lovely flow (pun not intended) of rhythm, before gradually building up with duelling guitar melodies.
Inconsistency is shown again with "Children of Mud" as the album again starts to stutter. The band seems to try too hard to incorporate as many various melodies as possible, and it ends up like a bad parody of itself. However - credit given for the dual guitar solo which is very ‘In Flames’-like.
Much like before in the album, all seems to be forgiven as we are presented with another double-dose of what the band is capable of. The subtle inclusion of tubas and French horns on "Ghosts Anthem" works perfectly with the rhythm and lead guitars, which shows that despite the previous song on the album the band does have the melodic fortitude to stack these elements on top of each other to produce a captivating experience. And then we come to the longest track on the album……. "Reborn". A surprising piano introduction drifts seamlessly into an evolving melody that gathers pace around mid-point of the song. This is where it reaches its pounding peak before gradually bringing us back down this melodic mountain of a song where an acoustic outro ends the song and the album.
A perfect ending to what potentially could have been a perfect album, had it not been for the inconsistencies that hindered it. (3.5/5)
Standout Tracks:
Blackout
Golden Cage
The Flood
Ghosts Anthem
Reborn
