There seems to be a decent amount of very strong technical death metal acts arising lately. Decrepit Birth, Odious Mortem, and Anomalous are just a few that come to mind recently, all of which are on the more brutal side of the spectrum. With the exception of Anomalous, there is a big Suffocation vibe going throughout these bands’ records, though unlike other Suffocation-clones bands like Odious Mortem are starting to break out and find their own identity (see Cryptic Implosion, which is one of the best technical brutal death metal albums this year).

Element is part of that breed of technical brutal death metal that is heavily influenced by Suffocation, however like Odious Mortem they are able to bring to the table a variety of riffs and talent. Aeons Past features guitar playing that is brutal and technical, but always varied. Never does Aeons Past sound repetitive or devoid of any life. To top that off, the drumming is phenomenally strong and on par with the drumming of Odious Mortem. This, of course, can be attributed to the fact that the drums were actually done by KC Howard of Odious Mortem AND Decrepit Birth. Vocalist Mondo obviously goes for a Frank Mullins vocal approach and while it’s not exactly unique, it’s still a very capable style and works with the brutal sound that Element is trying to provide. There’s some progressive influence here, too, as on songs like the title track Element fades in with a little ditty akin to both Cynic and Atheist. It contributes to keeping Aeons Past varied, fresh, and above the technical brutal death metal herd.

Overall, Aeons Past is a must for any technical brutal death metal fan. Element has great record on their hands. My only gripe is that they don’t play around more with those progressive elements on the title track. Right now, I would put Odious Mortem’s Cryptic Implosion higher than Aeons Past, but if Element did explore those influences more I can easily see them matching Odious Mortem in the future.

Written By: Necro-tron