AENAON — Cendres Et Sang (review)

Album · 2011 · Black Metal

4/5 · 2011-05-19
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Cendres et Sang is the first full-length album from Greek avant-garde black metal band Aenaon, released in 2011. On Cendres et Sang Aenaon produces a sound which is a mix between some harsh black metal and some melodic ideas with plenty of avant-garde flavour to them, also heard well in that the release touches on a number of other music styles.

After opening with the intro track Kafkaesque, which is a saxophone piece, the album kicks off proper with Suncord (although it sounds like the two ought to be one track – seriously artists, stop doing this!), which quickly establishes just what Aenaon are all about. The black metal parts are intense and the avant-garde element in the music keeps it from being an exclusively brutal attack on the ears, which gives the music much more depth. Without it the album would just be the band thrashing their black metal riffs away which would have resulted in a brutal yet bland release. There’s a very prominent jazz influence in the music with the inclusion of the saxophone in some of the tracks being the most notable aspect of this. The growled vocals are generally strong and I like the fact that Aenaon have gone for a decent production on the record, as it helps give the music more power. A raw production in black metal is all well and good when the aim is to create a cold minimalist atmosphere and while they lack of that may make the ‘true’ black metal devotee want to steer clear of Cendres et Sang, the decent production here should make the record much more appealing to the wider crowd.

It’s those non-standard ideas that give Cendres et Sang it’s most interesting aspects however. Parts of this record make me think I’m listening to early Mastodon, such as in Grand Narcotic Harvest, while yet others have an almost folk melody to them, such as in Necroscope. It certainly makes for a surprising listen on the first spin, and after that it still remains fresh and interesting with its unexpected twists and turns, and makes for a very fulfilling listen.

Additionally there are some very prominent lead guitar parts in the album that manage to give the release some air guitar moments, which I wasn’t actually expecting from a black metal album despite the fact that the avant-garde element should have made me expect the unexpected.

Overall Aenaon’s Cendres et Sang is the sort of black metal album that I like to come across. The avant-garde side of the band makes this a bit different from most and makes it stand out from the crowd. In truth I think that this is only the beginning of a great career for Aenaon and while this is a great debut effort, I fully expect them to deliver some true masterpieces in the future. Recommended for fans of non-standard black metal, especially if you’re partial to a bit of the good ol’ saxophone (just don’t expect a saxophone dominated album!).

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven, scoring 8.1/10)