IN AETERNUM – …Of Death and Fire

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7.0

• Bands:
  IN AETERNUM
• Duration: 00:43:27
• Available from: 02/06/2026
• Label:

• Soulseller Records

Streaming not yet available

In Aeternum are not very subtle with the title of this new album: “…Of Death and Fire” is a declaration of intent that leaves no room for misunderstanding. But, all things considered, it is also a title that earns the right to exist, because this return comes after a troubled career phase and a silence that lasted over a decade, or rather more, if we consider that the Swedish band's last true full-length dates back to 2005 (“Dawn of a New Aeon”). A very long time, especially for a group that, between the end of the nineties and the beginning of the 2000s, had coherently embodied a certain idea of ​​traditional metal extremism, even achieving some success.

Probably not many people remember In Aeternum today: at the time, they emerged with a proposal full of fury and fidelity to a very specific canon, in a context in which many of their compatriots were instead looking for a more modern, smooth and sometimes alluring sound. Leather and studs, sharp riffs and an uncompromising approach: the trio became the standard-bearers of a black-death metal indebted to the lessons of Dissection, but dirtied with additions of rougher and more direct death-thrash, devoid of useless refinements.
Today the scene is profoundly different: the openly old school bands are fortunately numerous again, and a proposal like that of In Aeternum inevitably surprises less than in the past. This does not mean, however, that “…Of Death and Fire” is superfluous or exclusively anachronistic. The approach is the same as always: melodic and sharp black-death, which looks to certain Swedish masters without ever indulging in baroque excesses, maintaining a certain dose of barbarism when needed. Black metal of the past, recognizable, can be placed in a trend that today certainly has many disciples, but also few true revelations.

The new work from the band led by guitarist and singer David Larsson ticks all the boxes necessary to be compared to the first chapters of their discography: the interpretation is proud and heartfelt, the style immediately readable, supported by a sufficiently warm production, which avoids both excessive modern patina and lo-fi fetishism as an end in itself. Perhaps a real “hit” capable of imposing itself with absolute force is missing, but songs like “The Day of Wrath”, with its old-school thrash pace, and “The Hourglass”, exquisitely Swedish in its melodic breath, stand out from the first listens. “To Those Who Have Rode On” also deserves a mention, with a martial character and enriched by the contribution of Erik Danielsson of Watain. The piece, in which vague echoes also emerge at times bathoryanisounds like a heartfelt tribute to a slightly younger band who, in the eyes of In Aeternum, managed to carry forward with coherence and personality a musical discourse similar to theirs.

It is clear that a work like the debut “Forever Blasphemy”, released in a historical moment poorer than this type of extremist incursions, had a different impact. Today emerging is more difficult, in a crowded scene full of proposals linked to tradition. “…Of Death and Fire”, however, does its duty and still finds a way to leave its mark, even if the songwriting doesn't always really surprise. It will probably be mainly some older listeners who will welcome him with satisfaction, but that doesn't mean that his sober and no-frills fury won't be able to conquer even younger and more curious ears.