Reternity is a heavy metal band from Germany formed in 2018, releasing three albums to date – ‘Facing The Demons’ (2019), ‘A Test Of Shadows’ (2020), and ‘Cosmic Dreams’, released in 2022.
Featuring a more dynamic and epic sound, Reternity‘s third opus stands out from the band’s two previous releases, by offering a heavy progressive touch to the album’s eleven songs. And while the band remains firmly rooted in the heavy metal genre, the exploration in a new direction shows maturity and growth, and a willingness to broaden your horizons. Hell, even after forty years, metal pioneers and legends Iron Maiden still explored new directions with their latest album ‘Senjutsu’ (2021) – a ‘The Number Of The Beast’ it most certainly isn’t! But back to Reternity, and ‘Cosmic Dreams’ – ‘Building Better Worlds’ breathing life into the new album with anticipation and tension-filled intro, before breaking out into a traditional metal gallop. With their foot well and truly pressed on the pedal, Reternity roar through ‘Building Better Worlds’, giving just the smallest hint of the progressive nature that is to come…
…the band slowing the pace for the ballad-like ‘Untamed Hearts’. Maybe too heavy to be a ballad, ‘Untamed Hearts’ is a mid-tempo mid-paced thunderstorm that hints at various other styles of metal such as alternative, (the aforementioned) progressive, and err. ahem, Grunge! Reternity is not afraid to roam the horizon in search of inspiration to enhance its sound. With an air of menace, ‘Depths Of Nothingness’ hits hard, very hard, showing the band’s progressive leanings…and with a change of gear ‘Depths Of Nothingness’ becomes a pace-changing cacophony of heavy-hitting heavy metal. With incendiary devices exploding left right and center, Reternity burst into life with pace and power for the title song ‘Cosmic Dreams’ – the band’s progressive nature reining in the sudden upsurge in pace, preventing ‘Cosmic Dreams’ (the song) from careering to an end at high velocity. The one-and-a-half-minute ‘Astronaut’ is a highly atmospheric and tension fuelled song that fills the air with electrically charged anticipation.
Anticipation for ‘Blitzwerfer Blues’, a heavy thunderstorm that’ll batter you senseless. There’s also a dash of the blues, a pinch of sleaze, and a hint of American rockers Aerosmith and their trademark swaggering style of rock.
Meld this with Reternity‘s heavy metal roots and you have one of the most diverse songs on the album. Progressive metal comes to the fore with the tempo changing ‘Seemingly’, swinging from one end of the heavy metal genre to the other. All the while maintaining a massive melodious appeal, making ‘Seemingly’ one, if not the, most infectious and addictive song on offer. Hell, all the songs are addictive, it’s just that ‘Seemingly’ has that little bit extra! Hitting harder than a wrecking ball in full flight, ‘Only Scars Remain’ increases the intensity to a new level, introducing a more venomous vocal delivery than heard previously. Yet the band shelves the venom for a highly melodic and catchy chorus break.
I tell ya, the diversity of the band’s previous album ‘A Test Of Shadows’ (2020), has increased ten-fold with this one!
Razor sharp riffing brings ‘Wonderful Life’ to life, assuming a thundering mid to high-tempo pace as the band’s progressive nature comes to the fore once more. The infectious level across the verses will have you nodding your head and tapping your feet, the rhythm the rockiest heard on the album. The band is seemingly able to seamlessly weave rock and metal traits together.
And for the first time since the album began, a majestic nature descends upon proceedings, ‘The Narrow Sleep’ marching forth with an air of elegance. At over six minutes in length, ‘The Narrow Sleep’ is the longest song on the album and would be a cracking show-stopping end to ‘Cosmic Dreams’ (the album). But it’s not the end – there’s one more, ‘My Reternity’ ending the album in a near unplugged fashion. Highly atmospheric and hymn-like, ‘My Reternity’ resembles a warm down after a work-out – and is perfectly placed as an album closer.
Overall, a diverse and highly varied album of heavy metal featuring a prominent progressive nature.
TRACKLIST
Building Better Worlds
Untamed Hearts
Depths Of Nothingness
Cosmic Dreams
Astronaut
Blitzwerfer Blues
Seemingly
Only Scars Remain
Wonderful Life
The Narrow Sleep
My Reternity
Reternity: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: MDD Records
Category: Album
Country: Germany
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire, and Metal-Roos.
