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AENIMUS ‘Dreamcatcher’

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It is hard to believe that it has almost been six years since Aenimus dropped their debut album. And while Transcend Reality was a decent album nothing could prepare you for the brilliance of their brand new album Dreamcatcher. Yes, it took five years to make but hey when you are creating perfection you don’t want to rush things. Yes Dreamcatcher is the album you put on when someone tries to tell you that death metal bands lack creativity because not only do Aenimus mix things up but they bring a sheer beauty to the genre as well.

It comes as no surprise to learn that it was cinema that inspired Aenimus while putting together this album. The band aimed to pay homage to films and novels such as The Shining, The Dead Zone, It and the tale of Hannibal and the result is an album that not only captures that with lyrics but also has a cinematic feel to its instrumentals. Yes somewhere out there is a film just waiting to have the music here used for its soundtrack.

Dreamcatcher is also one of the most well-rounded albums that you are ever likely to hear. While one of the first things that hits you about this album is the amazing death vocals of Alex Green it is the instrumental side of the album that makes it a masterpiece. Take opening track ‘Before The Eons’ for example. The track opens with sheer amazing brutality but a little glint of an acoustic piece soon shows that Aenimus are willing to do things differently here, then comes a beautiful slower instrumental piece and then you know that you are onto something special.

That is something that keeps repeating on Dreamcatcher because it is clear that Aenimus are now a band mature enough not afraid to mix their sound around. ‘Eternal’ features an amazing melodic chorus while the tinkling keys make it sound like a gothic nightmare before the force once again takes over. The guitars of Sean Swafford and Jordan Rush come to the fore on ‘The Ritual’ which is further enhanced by another beautifully delivered classical music section. Those same guitarists deliver the goods on ‘The Dark Triad’ while the melodic side of Aenimus returns on ‘My Becoming.’

Everything comes together with perfection on ‘Between Iron And Silver’ which just builds and builds until the melody is mixed with Green’s sensational growls before another stint of classical music tones everything down again. ‘The Overlook’ sees the guitars right in your face while once again it is the vocals that take over on ‘Caretaker’ a track that sees Green mix deep growls with some more mellow demon chatter revealing a vocal range that most vocalists would absolutely kill for. A stunning piano driven ending makes the track truly memorable.

The revelation of Aenimus as the complete package continues with ‘Second Sight’ that contains melodic vocals meeting an epic guitar solo and pacey death metal drumming from Cody Pulliam. The audience then see the two clear sides of Aenimus on the last two tracks of Dreamcatcher – ‘Day Zero’ is pure brutality while the title track is stunning instrumental bliss.

Aenimus have delivered an absolutely spectacular album with Dreamcatcher. Moody and atmospheric this is an album that shows a band that are at their creative best. Let’s just hope it is not another five years before Aenimus drop another album because this is a band that you feel are capable of true creative genius because here they have created a true masterpiece.

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