AEON OF AWARENESS turned out to be quite an interesting band. It's a relatively young Death Metal collective from Leipzig, Germany, with a duo of experienced musicians behind the wheel. Their first LP "Wairua" - "the spirit" or "the soul" - is a Māori-themed Death Metal opus that relies on good riffs as much as it relies on a well-created atmosphere. The album is full of interesting atmospheric interludes and remarkable solutions and is also not afraid to periodically leave the genre boundaries and strive towards something a little different.

The culture and legends of the Māori people are not the most trivial topic by the standards of Metal music. This theme is reflected in the album's cover, the band's logo, and, what is most important, in the music. Now, I don't claim to be a specialist of any sort when it comes to anything about the Māori, but the combination of all the elements listed above not only created this mystical mood for an atmospheric metal trip that this record is but sparked my interest learn something about this culture. However, even if AEON OF AWARENESS's vision of Māori was somehow flawed and non-authentic, I frankly wouldn't give a rat's ass because it's still a very good and enjoyable metal record that is capable of creating a fantastic mood.

So, "Wairua" blends Melodic Death Metal with the trans-infusing value of Black Metal, and joins it with interesting keys, and prog-like chiming between the instruments. It sounds coherent and organic, despite seemingly changing its pace and tone several times during the record. It sounds so versatile, yet you never feel like there's no consistency, like it was a different band's song or something. The song "Te Kore" with its TOOL-like melodies and DJEVEL-style Black Metal song "Fort Fortress" are very different tracks, but they're united in the sound and the concept.

Most experiments on this record are placed rather in the beginning or at the very end. The middle section of this record constituted of the songs "Rise of Tane" and "Revenge of Tawhiri" sounds like a thing of its own, because it is where AEON OF AWARENESS take their 5 to remind you that you're listening to a Death Metal band. It is by far the heaviest section on the album, full of melodic riffs, low and menacing vocals, and aggressive drumming. This album is a roller-coaster in a way, however, the midsection seems like the craziest loop on "Wairua".

Seriously, it's a very good record! Perhaps, the only piece of criticism I have is some mixing solutions, but that's not very important. At the end of the day, the album is enjoyable and intriguing, and I can recommend it to people who would like to see some weird but tempting vibe in their Death Metal.