(Andy Synn delves into the darkness of The Ailing Facade, the upcoming new album by Aeviterne)
Gather round my friends and let me tell you the tale of… Flourishing.
With just a single album to their name, released all the way back in 2011 (the same year, as it happens, that Ulcerate released The Destroyers of All, which perhaps explains why The Sum of All Fossils ended up being somewhat overlooked/overshadowed in the grand scheme of things), the group may not be the most well-known of names, but in certain circles their legacy as a band well ahead of their time – progenitors, in many ways, of the still evolving Atmospheric/Dissonant Death Metal movement – is absolutely unquestionable.
But even if you’re not familiar with the band at all, you should still be excited by the upcoming release of the debut album from Aeviterne, as the group’s line-up not only features two ex-Flourishing members (vocalist/guitarist Garrett Bussanick and bassist Eric Rizk) but also involves creative contributions from ultra-talented ex-Castevet drummer Ian Jacyszyn and Artificial Brain‘s Sam Smith, which should give you some hint of the dark and demanding sound the quartet have conjured on The Ailing Facade.
Even taking these impressive credential into account though, the release of this album still raises the question – particularly in a world where bands like Ingurgitating Oblivion, Nightmarer, and Nero di Marte (to name just a few) have further normalised the incorporation of moody atmospherics and doomy, Post-Metal dynamics into Death Metal – of whether or not Aeviterne have perhaps come a little too late to the party to truly reap the rewards of their talents?
