Sulphur Aeon is, as of this writing, my favorite extreme metal band. Their first three releases—the brutal Swallowed by the Ocean’s Tide, the incredible Gateway to the Antisphere,1 and the unforgettable The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos—represent a truly unfuckwithable hot streak of ridiculously high caliber records. So deep is my love for these German worshippers of eldritch deities that, quite frankly, it’s almost a conflict of interest for me to cover them. Yet here I am, determined to provide the public with what they deserve: a proper and thorough review of Sulphur Aeon’s upcoming fourth opus, Seven Crowns and Seven Seals.
The improbably high standard Sulphur Aeon set with their initial trio of triumphant tomes leaves Seven Crowns and Seven Seals in an impossible position of trying to live up to past successes. Originally crafting a Behemoth and Immolation mashup, Sulphur Aeon developed and honed their sound into something wholly their own by the time Gateway to the Antisphere crashed upon Earthen shores. The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos took that formula and fortified it with a deeper thread of melody and accessible vocal hooks. Today, Sulphur Aeon shift once more, morphing into something more blackened and occult than ever, adding subtle Ved Buens Ende notes to their sonic palette. Less vicious and bloodthirsty than Gateway and less immediate than Scythe, Seven Crowns and Seven Seals adopts a more ritualistic and atmospheric feel, prioritizing nuanced songwriting and sophisticated musicianship to answer Azathoth’s ethereal call. Meanwhile, crushing riffs and shimmering black metal ornamentation remind listeners that this is still, without a doubt, a Sulphur Aeon record.
As always, Sulphur Aeon prove themselves as stalwart songwriters with Seven Crowns and Seven Seals. Opener proper “Hammer from the Howling Void” kicks things off in fine fashion, encapsulating everything Sulphur Aeon have done and continue to do well: merge monumental riffs with blackened flourishes, guttural rasps with chanting ritualistic calls, and pummeling double bass with brassy cymbal trickery. Follow up “Usurper of the Earth and Sea” boasts a stronger melodic backbone, utilizing the band’s signature clean-picked twang to great effect. Hooky and memorable, this song strips the Sulphur Aeon template down to its core attributes and showcases the band’s uncanny knack for smooth transitions between immersive atmosphere and frothing rabidity. “Arcane Cambrian Sorcery” and “Seven Crowns and Seven Seals” pull a sheet from Scythe’s playbook, putting accessible choruses and groovy percussive rhythms on a pedestal. Those attributes elevate those cuts high above churning waves of deep blue sea, represented by increasingly icy tremolos and writhing bass counterpoint. This all leads to epic nine-minute closer “Beneath the Ziqqurats,” which recalls Swallowed and Gateway in its riff structures without sacrificing the cohesive tones and textures of this newest work. Altogether, the album works wonderfully as a whole, coming in at a tight, easily replayable 45 minutes despite the long-form constructions that comprise it.
Sadly, Seven Crowns and Seven Seals lacks that intangible quality which made all of Sulphur Aeon’s past work endlessly exciting. Everything in this record is professionally composed and mightily performed—and there’s no doubt that the subtle detailing in this work allows listeners to glean greater rewards with repeated spins—but my blood never boils as it once had. The ritualistic chants of “Arcane Cambrian Sorcery” and the affected chorus of “Seven Crowns and Seven Seals” don’t inflame my heart with a burning passion for my Lovecraftian overlords as viscerally as they should, somewhat subdued in comparison to massive catalog highlights “Diluvial Ascension – Gateway to the Antisphere” or “Thou Shalt Not Speak His Name.” Seven Crowns and Seven Seals’ riffs similarly punch slightly under the weight of tectonic crushers “Where Black Ships Sail,” “Abysshex,” or “The Oneironaut.” In effect, the hard points of Sulphur Aeon’s newest material hold something back in the way of overall impact, a missing link that is felt most deeply in the context of the band’s infallible discography thus far.
With all of this in mind, know that Seven Crowns and Seven Seals is still a very good record by a band who, it appears, can do no wrong. It lacks the intangible quality and gargantuan impact which made their first three records special, but it still puts many records released by similar bands this year to shame. Such is the power of the metalverse’s most eminent disciples ov Cthulu!
Rating: Very Good!
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Ván Records
Websites: sulphuraeon-vanrecords.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/SulphurAeon
Releases Worldwide: October 13th, 2023
