AEOLIAN is a melodic death metal band from Spain, formed in 2016.  "The Negationist," is their second full length album. The production is extremely crisp, clear, and loud.  One may argue that is too much of a clean sound but it certainly brings out the razor sharp guitars and boisterous melodies that present themselves across the eleven tracks.  "The Negationist," is an album that deals with the consequences of the damage humans cause our planet—and they definitely stand by their convictions as anyone who hears this album can feel the very emotions they pour into it.

Musically, "The Negationist" is an album that fits into the MDM easily enough but also blends in folk elements. They make the combination hearty and steadfast, a laser focus on bringing these elements together. At many points in the album, I am reminded of the early days of the melo death genre in the way they focus the songs into the melody in a very natural way. The opening track, "Momentum", is laced with these guitar melodies. The higher register death shrieks go alongside the melodies for an opening that makes an urgent yet epic statement. The guitar around the 1:20 mark is great and doesn't sound like most other solos in this style—it has a rock and roll vibe to it.

"Animals Burned" is as furious as flames themselves with biting vocals. The drums take on a black metal tempo, giving a performance of pure intensity and blasting. Sharp guitar melodies wrap themselves around the beat and the whole song comes together, complete with lower pitched death growls before slowly down for a quick acoustic bridge before laying on the distortion again. These little bits and pieces they throw into the tracks make the album as special as it is. Operatic vocals are another little surprise injected, this time in "Blackout," which is a furious number. The violins towards the end of the song is a musical jaunt that caps it all off, ending the song with class and reserve.

"The Flood," is an interesting song that uses tempo to alter the song's presentation. During the chugging rhythm of the stanzas, the vocals are a growl but becoming deadly screams when the tempo speeds up. The halfway point of the song is magical. A nice melody builds up into a seething guitar solo that in turns paves the way foe dueling guitar melodies. I just love how the band stacks up these individual moments into a bigger whole.

The last two tracks are my favorite on the album, revealing the obvious fact of this being an album that gets better as it goes along. "Ghosts Anthem," is made up of the rhythm and lead guitar working together for a heavy but smooth song that glides along until a pounding mid section that is optimal for head banging. Seamlessly, it transition to melodies that get thicker into layers until the song becomes a swirling mass of melodic hurricane winds.

The final track, "Reborn," is, for me, the centerpiece of the album. It is the longest track and the band throws all they have into it. A piano intro starts it off until giving way to an ever growing melody that travels through the song's early moments. Each section of the song brings back the melody, each time a little different. The rest of the song is sort if built around it and grows to change against the melodic tide. Acoustic outro breaks down the song, ending it and the album. AEOLIAN's "The Negationist" has proven itself to be one of the more solid melodic death albums I've heard this year—quite the year end surprise.