Album links
Bandcamp: https://soundoftheaviators.bandcamp.com/album/aeterno
Soundcloud: n/a
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0tVYhReBmzpA81JproDO3W?si=uOELovmKRD2KTz-Sj93NLA
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuJ82PHklZE7xwcGeobnlHLLgnzAjyBbu
Introduction: Aviators is a bit of an interesting artist to review. The fact of the matter is that he’s developed his sound in such a way that what he produces now has absolutely nothing in common with where he started. Well, technically, this album isn’t his true beginning, but I’ve opted to skip the first bit of his discography for now as Aviators would probably disown them. I may look at those eventually, but I think time would be spent better going over the albums that actually matter at first.
Still, Aeterno is a bit of an odd place to begin the Aviators journey, as it’s an entirely unique concept album that shares little to no similarities with the other albums he’s released prior or since. The album is based on a vague story of sorts, much vaguer than Mind.in.a.box of course (the inevitable comparison I shall always make when introducing a narrative), but still involves some extremely subtle worldbuilding centering upon a post apocalyptic world. Unfortunately, there’s not too much to go off of thanks to 14 out of the 15 songs being instrumental. But I’m the master of digging deep even when there’s nowhere to dig so let’s get into that deep digging why don’t we?
Aviators – Aeterno (7.5): A time long forgotten or perhaps a time that is yet to come…
Any time is reachable now that we’ve arrived here…
And so, we begin…
The album starts out with its titular track, a calming mysterious piece that sets the tone for the rest of the album (as an intro song should). This song is a simple combination of a few bone chilling instruments including some deep contrabass strings, a distant choir and the melodic star of the show, bells. There’s only a handful of melodies in here, none of them reaching more than a handful of notes. But the simplicity does work. It draws more attention to the feelings the instruments create rather than the melody itself. Done well, it can be quite immersive, and this is definitely done well.
These bells, choir and strings work together to bring an image to life in my mind. Albeit, this image isn’t the liveliest. Perhaps, it’s the album art’s fault as it depicts a decrepit city that looks to have a higher population of overgrown plants rather than human beings. Then again, seeing as the album art is a deliberate choice, that was probably the intention. The very description of this album is post- apocalyptic. Perhaps time travel too? I believe there was a more in-depth description on this album’s story once, but the description has disappeared somehow, lost in time…
It makes sense that time travel would be involved as when I tried to find the definition of Aeterno, I found the phrase “ab aeterno” instead, meaning “from an infinitely remote point of time in the past.” And if you’re in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Going to an infinitely remote point of time in the past sounds like a good way to escape the horrors of the present…
Aviators – Escaping Darkness (7.25): As the world falls apart, darkness will surround and suffocate you…
Unless you escape…
Escaping Darkness begins with a very mysterious calm similar to Aeterno. However, this time the mysterious darkness chooses not to hide behind the beauty of bells. No, the ambience from the beginning, complete with broken glass, makes it clear that the darkness is settling in. And as the blasting horns overpower the song for that first minutes, they send a message that the darkness is here to stay.
The rest of the song tries to escape it anyway.
While the song doesn’t really have a regular tempo, it still has a great drive to it, a great sense of trying to run and escape the darkness that seeps across the land (or perhaps within the soul). There are drums in there, but they seem to be a of the more cinematic variety rather than the typical drive. Instead of displaying the BPM of running down dark alleys of a forgotten city, this drumbeat attempts to capture the emotional stress of it all. And matched with the first electronic melody of the album (with some underlying bells), the attempt is successful.
While there may be a short break from the darkness midway through, the chase can’t last forever. It seems that, for now, the darkness has won. There is no escape…
Aviators – Broken Planet (7): The planet is broken…
Can it be fixed?
Broken Planet is one of the shorter songs on the album, not even hitting the three-minute mark. Still, it uses its time well. This song is about on par with Escaping Darkness, better in some ways, but in the end, it’s just not quite as good. In the beginning, it hits a lot of the same emotions, but it does so in an ever better spine-chilling fashion. During the first and last minute of the song, there’s no audible instruments other than a very simple piano melody. However, the sound design of this piano is distorted ever so slightly that it allows for some really unsettling ambiance. In this album, Aviators seems obsessed with taking simple melodies and using them to the best of their ability. This part of the song allows for some quiet reflection, ears filled with something familiar, yet distorted to a point that’s almost unsettling.
The middle of the song takes a different approach to display this broken world. It’s a lot less subtle. The cinematic drumbeats here are quite similar to those used in Escaping Darkness, but there’s very little else to distract from the drums this time around. This results in a bit of a mixed bag. Out of context, the drum just doesn’t really hold the song on its own, making it one of the less interesting parts on the album. But it does provide a good rush to the middle of the song, giving it a slight bit of edge of your seat variety. I just can’t help but wonder if this track would have been better if it had fully committed to the creepy piano the whole way through. Still a good one, but I can’t help but feel it has missing potential.
Aviators – Labyrinthine (5.75): When all is lost…
It can be hard to find one’s way…
Labyrinthine differs heavily from what we’ve been presented with so far. The past three songs used a small number of simple instruments to provide a cinematic feeling that feels as if it belongs in a movie. Labyrinthine is DnB. Which is completely different from most of the songs on the album. But I’m perfectly ok with that. DnB used to be my favorite subgenre of EDM and it still remains to be up there, though perhaps various forms of trance have overtaken it since then. Plus, if you count futurepop, there’s that too. So yeah, DnB isn’t going to be my focus on this site too much. Still, I’m a huge fan of syncopation (staple characteristic of DnB) and high tempo energy (other staple characteristic of DnB) so most DnB tracks are an instant win for me.
This song seems to try and walk the thin line between an extreme high energy DnB song and the bell melodies played throughout the album so far. During the calmer sections and the build-ups, I feel this works alright, giving a nice balance of energies. But it doesn’t tickle my imagination like the rest of the songs so far and the drops aren’t exactly the most inspired. While I do automatically like DnB because of its tempo and syncopation, this song feels pretty below average for the genre. Making it only a bit above average as a song.
Having this be the first DnB song I review (again, surprising it’s taken this long), isn’t exactly the most glaring recommendation of the genre. It’s good but pales in comparison to some of the DnB masterpieces. It also pales in comparison to the next DnB song I plan on reviewing… later in this album. There’s another one but we’ll talk about that in a bit.
Aviators – Haunted (6.5): As the darkness creeps in…
As the broken past is revealed…
It haunts us…
Haunted is a return to the general calmer more introspective side of the album, which is incredibly refreshing after subpar DnB. And the strings and the arp at the beginning really sell the song quite well from the beginning. They develop quite nicely with the arp and a simple integrated melody taking the forefront for much of the song. Though there are a couple of moments where some other neat elements are introduced, such as the subtle whisper of vocals in the clam in the middle, which serves as my favorite part of the song, really bringing the entire song together for a driving haunted feel (fitting considering the title) And… uh… there’s the other melodic instrument.
Yeah, I sure hope you like that synth, because Aviators uses it a lot in his early works. Sometimes it works well, giving a song a bit of flavor. But the flavor doesn’t quite work or fit in here unfortunately and so I find myself ever so slightly irked by its existence. It’s not bad and it thankfully has a decent amount of variation to it so it’s in no way repetitive, but I just can’t help but feel the song would have been a bit stronger without it. Maybe shave off a couple minutes too so that missing variation doesn’t make the song tedious. Am I being nitpicky? Yeah. Probably. It is a decent song, but it could be a lot better.
Aviators – Find Me (7.5): A distance voice calls out…
Find her…
This calmer track is completely piano focused, taking the simplicity of early Aviators to an entire new level. There are some subtleties in there such as a bells and drums that almost blends in perfectly with the piano melody and a stringed section that adds another layer of beauty to the song. But nothing gets as much focus as the piano.
And seeing as the piano is a wonderfully beautiful instrument, the song is gorgeous. You’ve got some arpeggiated notes on the lower end of the piano that play throughout the song, serving as the gentle backbone of the track and those are paired with the melodies on the higher end of the piano. Not to mention the section in the middle and end of the track that focuses on bouncing back and forth between strikingly powerful chords and the calmer piano melodies as a contrast. All of the other instruments do get stronger as the song progresses, but they only serve to heighten the emotion of the piano, not overpower it. Such a simple track but also one of the best.
Aviators – Kill Switch (7.75): Reset what once was…
Kill the past…
Kill the future…
And begin anew…
Alright, back to the slightly harsher stuff. Not that much of this album has been very harsh at all for the most part. I guess perhaps Labyrinthine has some slightly harsher parts and the next track is quite intense as well, but that just makes this song stand out all the more as one of the most energetic songs on the album. It hits a great sweet spot in energy that differs greatly from previous calmer songs like Aeterno and Haunted, but it doesn’t quite reach the same levels of intensity as the DnB tracks of the album, Labyrinthine and Iron Horizon (I’ll get to that one shortly, give me a second). This fantastic balance makes it one of the best songs on the album.
So what does Kill Switch have to offer? Well, first off it has a solid drive, which is more than I can say for many of the other songs on the album. Not saying that (most of) those songs are bad because of their lack of solid drive. Some of the ones without that drive turn out to be the most beautiful (See Aeterno and Find Me). This one does have a nice outro that’s a bit more relaxing, but that’s not its strong point.
Its strong point is pushing forward with a handful of electronic synths. (wacky basslines, some stabbing melodies, you get the gist). There’s also some bells because it wouldn’t be a song on Aeterno if it didn’t have bells. These bells do a much better job at integrating themselves into a more intense song that Labyrinthine did, but I think the most interesting part of this song has to be the electric guitar, or at least the synth that simulates the electric guitar. I guess I’m just a sucker for a good guitar melody… or a good guitar riff… or a good guitar solo… You know what, I just like good guitar and good guitar is something that this song has.
Aviators – Iron Horizon (8): The City looms over the horizon…
Save it before it breaks…
Kill Switch was definitely intense compared to most of this album. Most. Because there is one song that takes the mantle of the most intense energetic song of them all. And that song is Iron Horizon, the second DnB song of the album and the first song off of Aeterno that I heard. And while I didn’t really appreciate Labyrinthine, I do find Iron Horizon to be a much better introduction to my love for DnB. Sure, it’s not the first DnB song I’m reviewing, but it is the first DnB song I love.
Already talked about the high tempo and syncopation back in Labyrinthine. Those go without saying so I’m going to try and focus on the more unique elements of the song. After a few seconds of deceptively calming bell melodies that high tempo syncopation I keep talking about comes in and sets the song into full force (Ok, I guess I am talking about the high tempo syncopation. So sue me). Or at least that would be full force, but the song is once again deceptive as the build-up approaches with rapid drumbeats, some subtle guitar work in the background and the heaviest bass this album has to offer.
After that there’s the drop. And I have both everything and nothing to say about this drop. The basslines here are exceptionally impressive and intense compared to what was seen in labyrinthine. The melodies are exceptionally and enjoyably energetic which matches the upbeat vibe a lot better than most of the bell melodies in Labyrinthine. And the second half of the drop? The part where it’s constantly bouncing back and forth between half of that energetic melody and a showcase of some great bassy DnB patterns? Absolutely fantastic.
Honestly, I’m pretty sure the main difference between this and Labyrinthine is that Labyrinthine just didn’t fully commit to the DnB madness. It was still trying to hold on to tightly to the calmer vibes that appear throughout a huge portion of this album. Iron Horizon still has bells and all, but there is nothing calm and relaxing about it. Perhaps the beginning and end are a bit calmer, but that’s a total of about 20 seconds of calmness compared to over 3 and a half minutes of high energy DnB. It’s just some bookends that serve as a reminder that this is still Aeterno.
Aviators – I’ll Find You (5): She holds the key…
The key to change the past…
The key to change the future…
Find her…
I have to presume, based on title, that this is a sequel to Find Me. An answer to the call of the search. It would have been rather neat to see if the two songs shared any similarities, but unfortunately, it sounds to be nothing more than the next chapter in this incredibly vague story about time travel. There used to be more information out there on the story behind the EP, but I can’t seem to find it currently, or maybe it just never existed, and my brother and I are both remembering something that doesn’t exist. Doesn’t seem likely but my imagination continues telling me it’s a possibility so I’m going to keep that in mind.
Narrative aside, this song feels incredibly relaxing compared to the Iron Horizon that preceded it. Slower melodies, no prominent bassline, a long progression that takes its time going anywhere. Unfortunately, the problem with that last one is that the song doesn’t go anywhere. Sure there’s a few new elements introduced here and there, but many of them are too subtle to take note of and any significant addition is too far apart from the rest. It’s a bit faster in the beginning as it introduces the one of main melodies and a drumbeat (which still takes 2 minutes to come in, excessively long for a song of this stature), but after that, it just feels like the song takes forever to move from one point to the next. There are some other important melodies that come in here and there (the main theme of the song at 3:30 and a reiteration of the first melody with an all too obvious synthesizer that tries to sound like a guitar pluck but just fails at it spectacularly), but it seems Aviators is determined to prevent any significant changes from occurring within one minute of each other. It certainly does not meet the standards of variety for such a long 8-minute track
And as if the song wasn’t long enough, there’s a Part 2
Aviators & Vortex – I’ll Find You Part 2 (7): …
…
…
Find her…
I am actually quite glad that this track got divided up into 2 parts. Because Part 2 takes all the melodies that made the first part good and plays a few different spins on them with different instrumentation and tone. Plus, there’s a few entirely new melodies inserted in there as well. It may be two minutes shorter, but there’s plenty more variety to be offer. There are some obvious directions this song decides to go. Plenty of reiterations of the past song’s melodies of course. And also, Aviators has to use that iconic synth from his early works in here (plenty of melodic variety whenever they’re playing. There’s also an interesting bassline in the middle that interrupts the song in the middle with a harsher vibe similar to some moments in Kill Switch.
I’m not entirely familiar with Vortex and his work so I’m sure some part of this final product can be accredited to him. I’m going to guess that bassier portion has his name on it, but I’m not certain. Like I said, I’m not familiar with his work.
Honestly if you cut the first part down to three minutes and made a good transition into this second part, I think I would have liked the combination of these two songs all the better because of it. But as is, Part 2 definitely serves to be the better of the two.
Aviators – Cloud Ocean (5): Dive into the depths below…
Rise into the sky above…
Either direction leads to the unknown…
But must you only choose one?
Cloud Ocean is the happiest song this album has to offer. That also makes it perhaps the most boring along with I’ll Find You and one other track which I haven’t gotten to quite yet. Maybe, it’s just because I’m a sucker for the edgier stuff. Takes a bit more interesting elements to make a happier song like this one… well… interesting. And for the most part, I’m afraid this one fails to do so. Much of the song concentrates on the least adventurous strings possible and a tropical melody that falls flat. There are some guitar sections that make up a bit for the blandness, but those are still subtle, and they certainly don’t save the song from its curse of averageness.
Aviators – His Arrival (7.25): He has found you…
The one responsible for it all…
Change him…
Change the world…
Perhaps one of the simplest songs on the album but also perhaps one of the most chilling as well. But that’s simply what a music box does. There’s something unsettling about placing such a simple pretty melody within the dark ambiance that this track contains. The two overlapping melodies that come from this music box overlap each other quite beautifully. This song isn’t just a music box though. I didn’t notice it at first, but in the second half of the track there’s some great ambience added in. It’s very subtle at first, but it does become a bit more prominent over time, especially at the 1.5-minute mark when the strings take over. It also sounds like there’s a didgeridoo in there which really gives a unique vibe to the song. Overall, I feel this song works great as the creepiest song of the album despite its simplicity. Maybe because of its simplicity.
Aviators – The Ticketmaster’s Waltz (4.25): …
I’m not going to even bother trying to connect this one to the story. I mean, I’ve been trying to do my best to give a slight taste of what the concept of the album is about, even if it’s a bit of a stretch sometimes (see the last song), but hey, the concept is slightly vague so I’ll be slightly vague too. Except here. I have no idea how the Ticketmaster and his Waltz fit into all of this and I’m not sure if even my stretchy imagination can figure out a connection. It just feels out of place.
And I’m not really interested in the music either. Like His Arrival, this one devotes itself to an instrumental theme. But His Arrival had the advantage of using a creepy music box, an aesthetic I highly enjoy. This song is a creepy carnival, an aesthetic that I don’t really care about. Besides, the ghostly voices are much less creepy than the music box, so this song just comparatively falls flat. This album would have been a bit better off if this song was skipped over.
That’s all I have to say. Really. There’s nothing else.
Aviators – The Path Home (7.75): Change is inevitable…
Embrace it…
Move forward…
Find peace…
Find home…
This song definitely stands out as the only lyrical song of the album. And because of that, the song feels the most dated of the bunch of the album. Aviators’ voice has developed and improved over time, which is good because in a modern album the song without vocals would be the outlier (plus I like some of his modern vocal tracks. A good amount of them have great lyrics, not all of them but a good lot of them).
But that’s the future in comparison to this album. A time that had been yet to come in perspective of the past. But hey, the connection to past and future is what this album is all about anyway. That’s obviously not Aviators’ intention for including a vocal track this time around, but I’m mentioning it anyway.
The music here is a bit simple compared to most of the album, though not quite as simple as the last two. It’s fine because this is a lyrical track and the vocals carry the slack from the instrumental. Thank goodness, because the instrumental simply wouldn’t hold this song on its own. The minimalism worked fantastically for His Arrival, but this song is an entirely different animal. Where, His Arrival was instrumentally minimal, The Path Home is melodically minimal. Sure, there are a couple simple melodies at the beginning, end, and any other point where Aviators is silent. But they don’t provide much power compared to the chords throughout the rest of the song (heard almost exclusively during the vocal portions, especially the chorus). There are a few other melodies here and there using Aviators’ favorite synth or a slightly textural bass, but nothing too remarkable. It’s an adequate song, but nothing spectacular.
Thankfully, there’s lyrics. Don’t really think there’s too much here for me to analyze, but there is still a good message here about moving forward through the chaos. The first verse explores the paralysis one feels when viewing the chaos in this world. The easy path of numbly walking with the path of least resistance. But by the end of the second verse, it’s clear that the path of least resistance doesn’t necessarily end in peace. Sometimes you have to rise up and change your path, taking a risk to venture onto the rugged path.
The path home.
Aviators – Absolution (7.75): Everything must come to an end…
This is ours…
The final song of Aviators’ album is the most orchestral of the bunch, a fitting conclusion. What makes this song so great is the use of so many instruments that have been used throughout this album. The strings immediately give the signal that something grand is coming, be it grand in a victorious way or grand in a horrifying way is unclear. The song does seem to continue shifting back and forth between those moods as the strings dip down at certain points while also climbing to new heights at other points.
The drums, important to most songs (though His Arrival did quite well without them), aren’t necessarily unique, but they do have that irregular tempo that appeared in many of the earlier songs of the album so they’re worth mentioning.
The bells, Aviators favorite instrument for this album (not of this time period. The Aviators synth is strangely absent here, but that’s ok, I’m not sure it would fit) also make an appearance. They chime along with the song’s suspenseful tempo, painting a picture of the world changing as intended.
There’s also some piano, which was mostly prominent in Find Me. The piano once again provides a variety of melodies while it is present in the song, adding a healthy amount of variation in its stay, interesting seeing as the introduction of the piano was a service to variation already. It definitely steals the show in its beautiful sections (in an already beautiful song, so you know it’s exceptional).
Equally as beautiful is the choir that first made an appearance in the titular song at the beginning of the album. Here, the voices are stronger than ever, providing an extra layer of beauty to the track.
Altogether, Absolution wraps up this collection of songs quite wonderfully. And yet… I can’t help but feel there’s something more. This song builds towards an event undiscovered. The story continues on beyond what we see here. What happens next is unknown. The future is unknown. The story never ends. Just the chapters we can see.
For now, Absolution is the culmination of everything we’ve heard so far. Absolution is the end.
For now…
Conclusion: Overall, Aeterno is an interesting concept album with a great variety of songs ranging from simplistic music boxes to suspenseful cinematic pieces to some great intense DnB. Not every son is a winner, but many of them are at least well above average, meaning that my rating is well above average.
One thing that I want to mention is the possible future this album might hold. I know that I’m basically becoming a third hand source, but my brother told me that Aviators mentioned on a livestream that he’d like to remake this album. So whether or not I’m displaying reliable intel is possibly questionable but I’ve got some solid confidence in my brother so I’m going to believe it’s true. The question is when.
Final Score: (6.75/10)