news in aphelion black death
Black / death titans In Aphelion have issued the new video "Sorrow, Fire And Hate". The track comes from the band's debut album, Moribund, released in March 2022 by Edged Circle Productions.
With the band gearing up for live action far and wide, the video displays In Aphelion's onstage power and prowess. As the band explains, "The video for 'Sorrow, Fire And Hate' celebrates the manifestation of In Aphelion as a live act - the metamorphosis of a band as recording artists reborn and united with the audience, just like the lyrics of the song are about crossing the rivers of the underworld to wander into the unknown and unite with eternity. The video was filmed by our close friends in the Swedish black metal scene - by the ones that have kept the scene alive during decades, the ones immune against trends. What was captured at our debut gig could never be made with script and professional equipment. The purity of the raw footage was just right for this video."
A veritable treasure trove of Swedish black / death royalty, In Aphelion are a power-trio originally formed in 2020 by longtime Necrophobic guitarist Sebastian Ramstedt on vocals, guitar, and bass with prolific drummer Marco Prij. In 2021, with the advent of their debut demo, fellow Necrophobic guitarist Johan Bergebäck joined, making the unholy trinity complete. An impossibly auspicious first start, In Aphelion's first demo - despite being limited to a mere 50 copies - landed the band a deal with Edged Circle, first resulting in the teaser-length EP Luciferian Age and now a grandiose hour-long debut album, Moribund.
Indeed, while the spectre of classic blackened death metal for which Sweden is known looms large over In Aphelion, it must be stressed that these gentlemen are THE grand architects of that incredibly influential and ever-enduring sound. And not ones to rest on their laurels, with In Aphelion do both Ramstedt and Bergebäck unfurl new vistas of the imagination whilst respectably remaining within that noble tradition. Simply put, this is timeless heavy metal might painted in purple-blue hues but beaming with brilliant colors beyond.
Point proof is In Aphelion's first full-length recording, Moribund. While two tracks - "Luciferian Age" and "Draugr" - were forecasted on the aforementioned Luciferian Age EP, Moribund majestically displays the full bounty of In Aphelion's seemingly infinite powers. Longer, stronger, more deathly, more blackened, more metal, more of literally everything: Moribund is a veritable monolith of awe-inspiring songwriting and impassioned performance. Breathtaking opener "World Serpent (Devourer Of Dreams)" lives up to its namesake - and then some - and duly sets the stage for all that follows for the next 59 minutes. Rise, fall, rise even higher, marching and racing and spiraling and dazzling with every step: In Aphelion exercise a wealth of texture and nuance across these ten tracks, all whilst remaining razor-sharp and as finessed as it comes. It's not hyperbole here to suggest that In Aphelion in general and Moribund in particular handily challenge the sacred tomes of the '90s - again, it must be reiterated that two of those architects are in this band - but the epic-yet-effervescent manner in which this timeless black/death is rendered puts both in rarefied territory, and refreshingly so. And, just like the swift and satisfying Luciferian Age, Moribund is likewise given a grippingly powerful mix and mastering by Unleashed's Frederik Folkare.
"World Serpent (Devourer Of Dreams)" "Draugr" "Let The Beast Run Wild" "Luciferian Age" "This Night Seems Endless" "He Who Saw The Abyss" "Moribund" "The Origin" "Sorrow, Fire And Hate" "Requiem"
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