Operatic female vocals. Loads of synths. Symphonic approach. Gothic atmosphere and lot's theatricality. Now, features like that normally point in the direction of what I consider very cheesy music, and a review with keywords like that would normally make me avoid the artist, but i actually find Meden Agan's Erevos Aenon, although displaying all those features, a quite enjoyable listen.
And what I really like about this release is that the music itself is actually quite hard rocking with solid guitar riff, and most of the tunes, while lush in terms of vocals and synths are mainly guitar-centred. What is more, the guitar sound is quite heavy and not as polished as with other releases within the same genre. While Meden Agan draw mainly on a dark, gothic sort of power metal, there are also elements from speed metal and thrash metal, and even more extreme sorts of metal drop by for a visit every now and then.
As mentioned, the vocals are in the operatic department. Normally, I prefer more rock-oriented female vocals, but on this particular album, I quite like how the vocals contribute to the overall sound of the album, while the cheese level is kept relatively low.
While operating within a genre known primarily for its pristine poslishedness and for having a lot of artists that sound alike, Meden Agan's Erevos Aenon is well-balanced in terms of gothic lushness and solid hard rocking metal and is certain to appeal to fans of gothic metal and, due to the central role of the guitar, it might even appeal to fans of other types of metal as well.
Track list:
1. Black Sky
2. All Seems Lost
3. Blinded By Faith
4. Tribute To Life
5. Dissolve Into Grey
6. Nemesis
7. From The Ashes Of Sin
8. Erevos Aenaon
9. Universe Unseen
10. From The Ashes Of Sin (Extended Version)
11. Dissolve Into Grey (Extended Version)
12. Tribute To Life (Extended Version)