As everything seems to be so stiffly genre-regulated in the scene today, it is refreshing to hear an alternate view of the definition of heavy.  Could there be a more polarizing, perplexing word that lacks true, valid substantiation?  Heavy is truly in the eyes of the beholder and has been since day one.  VELNIAS is a Colorado band that has a quite original take on what it means to be heavy.  Formed in 2006, the band just released their third full-length, "Scion of Aether," via Eisenwald.  Over the course of six songs, the listener is entreated to a sound that is hard-fought, massive, and replete with a penchant for drilling deep down into the spiritual layer that permeates this physical realm of reality.

"Fissures within the Construct" is like an opening invocation, like asking the gods, plaintively pleading for their blessing via soulful melodies which establish an ethereal majesty.  "Pariah of the Infinite" follows and extends the regal quality of the first track.  By the 1:50 mark, a colossal sound is achieved with an emphasis placed on jagged thrusts of guitar.  The bass keeps the song ever moving forward with its forceful low-end sway.  There is so very much ambition at work here that one forgives an occasional lack of focus, or better put, an infrequent musical meandering.  The whole is always given primacy over the parts as myriad guitar tracks seemingly swirl through the air in a vortex of angular phrases.  The chaos and combustion that contribute to the song's success run starkly through the piece whilst cultivating its impact and totality of immersion.

VELNIAS has an inherent enigmatic nature that endears the band to fans of music with the intent of digging deeper.  "Scion of Aether" is certainly quite a prodigious undertaking, an achievement that may not yet earn them widespread acclaim, but those whose hearts beat with the ageless rhythm of discovery will be deeply rewarded after absorbing this music.  It is a dense, effective, radioactive, and highly volatile approach that does bring other greats to mind.  The band's sound could be summed up as a highly emotive, melodic Doom approach that thrives with a born ambition to thoroughly elaborate upon past greats and extend the idea into new territory with the ambitious use of layering and an atmosphere of hypnotic delirium.

First, there is a not-so-obvious element of the heyday of ANATHEMA, particularly the work done on "Silent Enigma" and "Eternity".  Though it is more of a nascent, primitive side of the music, the use of highly affecting, haunting melodies and robust swells of guitar harmonies does hearken back to the mid '90s Peacville elite act's carefully crafted musical formula.  There is that sway one comes under when listening to such music that truly tells its own tales.  Echoes of PRIMORDIAL and even of one of Relapse's forgotten gems, MINDROT, can be heard in the course of the album, but to narrow it down to one main element or influence would be to do the music a disservice.  In the way the music displays the characteristics of a tribal liturgy, the Psychedelic, entrancing nature of classic NEUROSIS makes a stoic impression.

The third track, "Aurora Rune," is aimed straight into the mind for now that the band has one's undivided attention, the sonic discourse continues to invade the realm of the subconscious.  Like the allure of a foreign intoxicant, one can feel the pull of its invitation, the chance to sit in the cockpit and watch the journey on autopilot.  Sometimes, it is all we can do to just tune in and turn off, an ever-present link to some elusive primordial past, a time when the forces at play conducted business much differently.  Could it be that music is able to tap into a kind of collective unconscious shared by all carriers of mortal DNA?  Though the past is painted with mystery and little reason, the mind is undaunted by the challenge of being overcome by such resolutely powerful themes of contemplation, observation, and synthesis.

The unstoppable plodding nature of the music is one of its strongest traits.  At all times, the band is toiling with a prestigious altruism, a preordained mission from the gods to illuminate the minds of the people.  The 8:30 mark of the final song, "Oblivion Horizon - Null Terminus," is a prime example of how the band is dealing with an overarching musical idea that is gibber than themselves.  With an unrepentant dedication to the thickest of guitar sounds, a unique textural approach, and a commanding rhythm section, VELNIAS has assembled an album that speaks to man's inborn nature of independent discovery.  Be the search in the far reaches of outer space or within the gentle organic crevices of the mind, the songs on "Scion of Aether" have been penned in such a way as to encourage that free spirit within us all.  While technology seems to degrade the collective intelligence of our species, to hear such a stylized lucidity at play here is a satisfying recompense.  This is an album to be loved more and more with each successive spin.