ALBUM REVIEW: Scion of Aether – Velnias

Despite being active for close to 15 years and having put out several great records, Colorado’s VELNIAS have never managed to break out of the underground. This is a shame, because their music, which blends blackened doom metal with elements of folk and post rock, sounds amazing. Their latest full length, Scion of Aether, comes almost eight years after the release of their previous record, RuneEater, and sees VELNIAS expand their sound even further, resulting in what is arguably their best output to date.

While the the short instrumental of Fissures within the Construct sets an impressive, hazy tone for the beginning of the record, Scions of Aiether proper starts with Pariah of the Infinite, a song that develops on the template laid down in the previous offering, with murky guitars and cavernous drums giving this song a borderline stoner feel at points. That is, until the vocals make their first appearance; harsh and caustic, they carve through the sanguine hooks like a rusty blade, injecting a little black metal into the heady music. In spite of its length, it’s hard to find fault with any of this track, and it stands as one of the earliest highlights on the album.

Aurora Rune adds plenty of depth to the sound, with thicker, sludgier rhythms and slick, hard rock inspired leads creating an excellent backdrop for some fairly sonorous, haunting vocals, which only add to the hypnotic quality of the music. The guitars ebb and flow between denser, crushing moments and far more ethereal ones, something that helps to keep this song interesting throughout, ultimately proving to be one of the more riff saturated tracks that feature on here. Confluence of Entropic Umbra is another brief, instrumental piece that breaks the album up with a sharp guitar motif that comprised of sublime melodies and a tight, soaring rhythmic side. It’s a short, but effective, track that bridges the gap between the albums four, monolithic tracks.

Supernal Emergent retains much of what has made this album sound fantastic up to this point, but starts to make more prominent use of the vocals to carry the music. Opting for a savage guttural roar. The vocals on here really add another layer to the music, giving this song a much more punishing, heavier sound. This coupled with the imaginative and eclectic musicianship on offer, makes for yet another brilliant slab of mesmerising doom metal, with a few hints of extremity setting it apart from the pack to some extent. Oblivion Horizon – Null Terminus is an expansive and beguiling song with a huge guitar sound and thunderous drumming that ties together the more intense end of VELNIAS‘ sound and their lighter, more post rock orientated material. Much like the previous track, it makes full use of more extreme vocals, which contrast really well with the sublime sound of the guitars and gives this particular song a far more aggressive sound. It’s a song that gathers momentum as it reaches its climax, and brings the album to a close on an amazing note.

Scions of Aeither is not your typical blackened doom album. Here, VELNIAS offer something far more diverse and imaginative than many of their peers can even hope to come close to, leaning on its post rock and doom influences far more than it does black metal, giving this record a fantastic, hazy sound that makes it all the more immersive and atmospheric.

Rating: 9/10

Scions of Aether is out now via Eisenwald. 

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