In 2012, Rise of Avernus let loose its first-ever commercial release – an E.P. ‘engraved’ with three compositions, or songs (or whatever One should call tracks on a symphonic metal CD).
As a taster for things yet to come, the first track ‘Upon A Field Of Stone’ comes closest to being a portent of the music that would appear on their full-length album L’Appel Du Vide (2013), being the most atmospheric and moving song of the three. ‘Upon A Field Of Stone’ begins not with the usual guitar riff or drum keeping time, but with the sound of a howling wind blowing across a desolate landscape. Soon enough the gale is layered with the sound of thunder and a freezing rain falling on the earth.
Catherine (Cat) Guirguis introduces gentle vocals to the piece, and the tinkle of piano keys evokes sadness and solitude. Many bars into the song Ben Vanvollenhoven’s vocals appear and contrast gratingly against the gentleness of those of his female counterparts. This is a song that keeps the listener’s interest with its many layers, tempos, and emotive unpredictability.
The middle song ‘Forbidden Sin’ is conceptually good but demonstrates that at this early point in the band’s incarnation, there was still a lot to be done in terms of composition structure. The song has brilliant parts but those parts jump between sections unnervingly and make the track disjointed and difficult to listen to.
Maybe that was the band’s purpose, in which case they succeeded. Who knows? To many listeners, the track would indicate a certain recording innocence and lack of polish (which can be a good thing depending on the listener’s predilections).
The final track, ‘Beneath The Frozen Hand Of Time’ is musically and vocally adept, but lacks an obvious hook. Beautiful guitar playing, graceful keyboards, and harrowing emotions play out in the piece, though the track is long at eight minutes and thirty-eight seconds, so it needs some oomph to bring us back to it. Many would stop actively listening by about the three-minute mark, but there isn’t much to refocus our attention.
For a first commercial recording, this E.P. has much to praise in terms of technical merit, though as with most new bands there is room to grow and space to become comfortable in their own skin.
Rise Of Avernus: Facebook
Release Year: 2012
Label: self-released
Category: EP
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Sharon Brookes
