The smell of chilling coldness in the summer, I would bet that it must be a mystical inner emotion, a little like the feeling of being totally free without strings attached to the matters of life. Add that sensation along with blistering brutality and dark matter, and it will create a bowl of madness, serenity in black, inspirational cognition regarding themes never spoken of out loud, crimson obscurity commune through the mind and into a different level of consciences. I might have gone a little too deep there into probable areas that I wouldn't even begin to understand, yet it served its purpose. I looked upon to check out a different type of Death Metal and I found it in the hands of the Norwegian anonymity named AETERNUS, a trio of alleged Black Metal servants that wished to cross their pikes with Death Metal vagueness and opacity. Heading back to the Metal underground market after seven years of absence through dim lights, AETERNUS, now signed to Dark Essence Records, released "...And The Seventh His Soul Detesteth", an oxymoron between the darkest arts of progressed Black Metal and the aptitudes of the Deathly side of the music, all in the name of cursive and fouled mysticism.

In overall, setting aside several occasions where I thought that I was listening to modern Thrash fuses with a variation of Death Metal, "...And The Seventh His Soul Detesteth" felt like a sort of a Black Metal album, yet akin to following the various roads this genre has been taking, some would consider it a Dark Metal invasion, I deemed it as another way to be diverse other than the name calling. AETERNUS, even though not being able to make sense at times with their arrangements, partly in order to sound composite and sundry, and their lead vocalist Ares being far back in the mix in order for me to extricate his role in this bloodied bath tab, assimilated riffing styles of old school Death Metal and refined them with abyssal Blackish corrosion reckoning them to become altered in such a way that several of them would be considered as a pillar of darkness. Within the songs, there is a rich combination of the discussed fusion that conspired to convey murky harmonies, acoustic solitudes of a both Spanish and Middle Eastern nature and of course the duress of heavy riffing, a few leaner soloing illustrations and assaulting rhythms, yet profoundly inspired by the Norwegian doctrine of extreme Metal or the later material of ROTTING CHRIST or DIMMU BORGIR.

I couldn't actually pinpoint on a singular flow to this release, as it aimed to enough directions as it is, but I wasn't looking for it as the nothing here is catchy or marketable, it is a different kind of a release, as most of the progressive stuff is, if done well. "The Confusion of Tongues" and "Ruin and Resurrect", retaining the sharpest edge of this bands articulate musical perception, true grit to the music, assorted riffery and that fine amazing impression of the local scene's Black Metal prodigy. The former is a clinging to the Black Metal relics of the past, but with an encouraging front end riffery while the latter is slightly progressed and awkward in a way yet isn't hard to comprehend. "Hubris" is a wondrous acoustic instrumental that served as a fine interlude for the things to come, but on its own was a hell of an inspiring moment. AETERNUS didn't hit all the right spots, but their intentions were good and ample. I suggest upon checking out what this album has to offer, it would be gloomy and distressing, but worth it.