Agathadaimon has just released their seventh full-length studio album, aptly titled The Seven. This is their first album in 7 years and the first since reforming in 2020. For Agathadaimon fans, the wait is well worth it. This is a beautifully complex album – the band hasn’t lost a single iota of songwriting ability.
Hailing from Mainz, Germany, Agathadaimon is Martin “Sathonys” Wickler on guitars and clean vocals, Chris “Ashtrael” Bonner on lead vocals, Michael “Nakhateth” Wöss on guitars, Max Jansch on bass, and Oliver “Mortos” Kraus rounding out on drums. The album was released in March 2022 on Napalm Records.
There’s so much to like about this album – case in point this was one of my favorite albums released in March 2022 (it was only narrowly beaten by the Dark Funeral offering, We Are the Apolocolypse, for my album of the month). The album is complex and ranges from deep dark brutality to operatic highs. The depth of vocal talent is incredible, between Martin and Chris they can pull off virtually any sound.
My favorite song on the album is Ain’t Death Grand, which was also released as a single. You can listen to it here. The intro of the track takes you on a deep dark journey, you can sense the build-up, until about the 30-second mark when Agathadaimon unleashes high-speed brutality. The ebb-flow of the first section is repeated throughout the song intermixed with soaring guitar work. My use of the word journey is deliberate here, the song feels exactly like that. The highs and lows of a journey.
Other stand-out moments are the progressive goodness of La Haine, the sweeping chorus of Wolf Within, the thrashy elements of Ghost Of Greed, the soaring operative vocals of Estrangement, and the desperate exhausted screaming of “only in my dreams” throughout In My Dreams (Part 2 – In Bitterness). The album has all these cool moments throughout. The depth of songwriting on this album is incredible – you will never get bored (in fact I’ve topped 20 complete play-throughs already and am still enjoying it).
The genius of these guys is that each song works individually as well as a piece in the structure of the album.
You’ll enjoy listening to singles, as much as complete play-throughs. That’s very hard to do and few bands can pull it off.
If you were worried about whether Agathadaimon has lost their charm having gone through hiatus, worry no more. This album is ridiculously good from start to finish, from the first listen to the last. A near-perfect album that will spend a lot of time going through my regular rotation.
Well done guys!
Tracklist:
- La Haine
- Ain’t Death Grand
- Wolf Within
- Ghosts Of Greed
- Mother Of All Gods (feat. Vlad Dracul)
- Estrangement
- In My Dreams (Part 1 – Prelude)
- In My Dreams (Part 2 – In Bitterness)
- Kyrie / Gloria (feat. Julien Truchan)
- The Divine
Agathadaimon: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: Napalm Records
Category: Album
Country: Germany
Reviewed by Phil Bergersen
