UMUR "Aeon of Chaos" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish death/thrash metal act Sacred Crucifix. The album was released through Poison Arrow Records in October 2004. While "Aeon of Chaos" may be Sacred Crucifix debut album, the band has a rich and influential history in Finnish extreme metal, releasing their first demo of aggressive and raw thrash metal in 1987 under the Criminal Assault monicker, but maybe more importantly the 1989 brutal thrash/proto-death metal demo "Realms of Darkness" (by then under the Sacred Crucifix monicker). Various circumstances prevented the band from getting a label deal and they disbanded in 1990 after releasing three demos. Two of the original members reunited in 1993 and brought in new members to record the "Demo 1994", which showed the band playing a more technical death/thrash metal style, but again they failed to secure a label deal and disbanded in 1996. However Sacred Crucifix aren´t easily killed and the original lineup who recorded the legendary "Realms of Darkness" demo reunited and recorded "Promo 2003" which finally secured Sacred Crucifix a label deal.

...so 17 years down the line since their inception Sacred Crucifix have finally gotten the chance to release a full-length studio album and judged by the quality of "Aeon of Chaos" it´s long overdue. Stylistically this sounds pretty much like "Realms of Darkness"-era Sacred Crucifix (although it´s generally a bit heavier), which I´m sure most fans of the band are very content with. So this is brutal and raw thrash metal with the occasionally more death metal oriented part thrown in. Lead vocalist/bassist Miku Mertanen has a caustic sounding voice and an intense aggressive delivery, the riffs are sharp, aggressive, and heavy, and Sacred Crucifix are generally the type of thrash metal act who take no prisoners. They can add a melodic lead or a slightly more atmospheric section for effect, but otherwise it´s mostly about darkness, savage aggression, and brutality.

"Aeon of Chaos" features a powerful, raw, and heavy sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly and upon conclusion "Aeon of Chaos" is a welcome comeback and good quality debut album from Sacred Crucifix. They sound like they mean it, and like there´s a ton of hunger left in them, which is what you want to hear from a revived band. No signs of fatique or just doing it to cash in (not that you would cash in playing this type of music). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.