• Best of 2019
  • Monthly Missive
  • Columns
    • A Gift to Artwork
    • Cool People Column
    • Death’s Door
    • Doomsday
    • Editors’ Picks
    • Genre Genesis
    • Grind My Gears
    • Into the Pit
    • Kvlt Kolvmn
    • Post Rock Post
    • Rotten to the Core
    • Unmetal Monthly
  • Genres
    • Metal
      • Black Metal
      • Death Metal
      • Doom Metal
      • Grindcore
      • Metalcore
      • Post-Metal
      • Progressive Metal
      • Stoner Metal
      • Sludge Metal
      • Thrash Metal
      • Trad Metal
    • Rock
      • Art Rock
      • Hardcore
      • Indie Rock
      • Math Rock
      • Post-Rock
      • Progressive Rock
      • Psych Rock
      • Punk
      • Shoegaze
      • Stoner Rock
      • Synthwave
    • Classical
    • Electronic
    • Folk
    • Hip-Hop
    • Jazz
    • Pop
    • R&B
  • Reviews
  • Listen To This!
  • Podcast
  • Store
  • Contact
Search
Heavy Blog Is Heavy logo
  • Best of 2019
    Featured
    • Heavy Blog’s Top 50 Albums of 2019

      Heavy Blog
      December 17, 2019
      Best of 2019
    Recent
    • Metal Journalism’s Top 50 Albums of 2019

      Nick Cusworth
      February 18, 2020
    • Heavy Blog Yearbook // Our Favourite Articles of 2019

      Karlo Doroc
      December 26, 2019
    • A Gift To Artwork // 2019 In Review

      Karlo Doroc
      December 24, 2019
    • Disco Loadout: 2019 In Review

      Simon Clark
      December 23, 2019
    • Heavy Blog Guest List – Bent Knee

      Nick Cusworth
      December 23, 2019
    • Discoveries // 2019

      Simon Handmaker
      December 20, 2019
  • Monthly Missive
    Random
    • Monthly Missive // October 2020

      Heavy Blog
      October 5, 2020
      Monthly Missive
    Recent
    • Monthly Missive // January 2021

      Eden Kupermintz
      January 4, 2021
    • Monthly Missive // December 2020

      Heavy Blog
      December 7, 2020
    • Monthly Missive // November 2020

      Heavy Blog
      November 9, 2020
    • Monthly Missive // September 2020

      Heavy Blog
      September 2, 2020
  • Columns

    Recent

    • Rotten to the Core // January 2021

      Calder Dougherty
      January 4, 2021
      Columns, Rotten to the Core
    • Death’s Door // January 2021

      Scott Murphy
      January 4, 2021
      Death's Door
    • Into the Pit // 2020 Stragglers

      Joshua Bulleid
      January 4, 2021
      Into the Pit
    • Post Rock Post // January 2021

      Nick Cusworth
      January 4, 2021
      Post Rock Post
    • Kvlt Kolvmn // January 2021

      Jonathan Adams
      January 4, 2021
      Kvlt Kolvmn
    • Editors’ Picks // January 2021

      Heavy Blog
      January 4, 2021
      Editors' Picks
    • A Gift to Artwork
    • Cool People Column
    • Death’s Door
    • Doomsday
    • Editors’ Picks
    • Genre Genesis
    • Grind My Gears
    • Into the Pit
    • Kvlt Kolvmn
    • Post Rock Post
    • Rotten to the Core
    • Unmetal Monthly
  • Genres
    • Metal
      • Black Metal
      • Death Metal
      • Doom Metal
      • Grindcore
      • Metalcore
      • Post-Metal
      • Progressive Metal
      • Stoner Metal
      • Sludge Metal
      • Thrash Metal
      • Trad Metal
    • Rock
      • Art Rock
      • Hardcore
      • Indie Rock
      • Math Rock
      • Post-Rock
      • Progressive Rock
      • Psych Rock
      • Punk
      • Shoegaze
      • Stoner Rock
      • Synthwave
    • Classical
    • Electronic
    • Folk
    • Hip-Hop
    • Jazz
    • Pop
    • R&B
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • Atramentus - Stygian

      Simon Handmaker
      September 2, 2020
      Reviews
    Recent
    • Dawnwalker – Ages

      Eden Kupermintz
      January 4, 2021
    • Deftones – Black Stallion

      Joshua Bulleid
      December 16, 2020
    • Wytch Hazel – III: Pentecost

      Pete Williams
      December 7, 2020
    • Tombs – Under Sullen Skies

      Pete Williams
      December 7, 2020
    • Aesop Rock – Spirit World Field Guide

      Eden Kupermintz
      December 7, 2020
    • Deluge – Ægo Templo

      Eden Kupermintz
      December 7, 2020
  • Listen To This!
    Featured
    • Hey! Listen to Let Us Prey!

      Joshua Bulleid
      July 28, 2020
      Listen To This!
    Recent
    • Release Day Roundup – 1/22/21

      Scott Murphy
      January 22, 2021
    • What We’re Really Listening To – 1/15/21

      Scott Murphy
      January 15, 2021
    • Release Day Roundup – 1/15/21

      Scott Murphy
      January 15, 2021
    • Release Day Roundup – 1/1/21 & 1/8/21

      Scott Murphy
      January 8, 2021
    • What We’re Really Listening To – 12/25/20

      Scott Murphy
      December 25, 2020
    • Release Day Roundup – 12/25/20

      Scott Murphy
      December 25, 2020
  • Podcast
  • Store
  • Contact
Home
Reviews

Aseitas – False Peace

Scott Murphy
June 26, 2020
Reviews

An already experimental band further raising the bar is one of the most impressive feats in modern death metal. We’ve experienced this with each new Pyrrhon release, and it looks like Imperial Triumphant is developing into a similar habit. What’s perhaps more amazing about this trend are the unique, twisted trajectories that bands in this genre niche have taken. Whether you call it dissonant tech death, avant-garde metal, or skronk, the subgenre has quickly outgrown the “fad” phase and become a full-blown movement of artistic ingenuity within metal’s most extreme subgenre. A couple years removed their excellent self-titled debut, we can now confidently add Aseitas to this exclusive club.

What grabbed me most on Aseitas was the band’s affinity for a groove-forward approach. Whereas their genre peers aim to blast and noodle into oblivion, Aseitas channeled all the intensity and aggression of the subgenre into pummeling, dissonant riffs that hit like a stomp rather than a sprint. Aseitas accompanied the heaviness with prevalent melodic and atmospheric passages, making for one of the most unique and well-rounded releases I’d heard from the genre in some time.

Aseitas have grown in every category on False Peace, shattering the notion of a sophomore slump. Enhanced production elevates the band’s chaotic grooves, which sound like more sinister and heavier versions of Car Bomb and Ion Dissonance riffs channeled through a tech death lens. There’s also a notable dedication to industrial metal in the vein of Godflesh, both in the band’s riffs and some extended noise-laden passages. The result is a more intense record that perfectly contains the band’s chaotic tendencies while still allowing them to devastate the listener’s senses. It feels like being slowly lowered into lava inch by inch while stuck in a cage made from jagged, unpolished obsidian.

The album begins with an anxiety-inducing, feedback-heavy beat, like the missing link between Godflesh and Jesu. It’s a perfect build-up for the all-out assault Aseitas launch into on “Scalded,” which sees the band leveraging the improved production and pulling out a few new ideas. Most notably is the prominent use of blast beats on the track, which are well-placed so as to compliment the groove-oriented approach rather than move the band’s sound closer to the genre mean. If you want to test the waters before diving into False Peace, “Scalded” is a near-perfect summation of the auditory devastation awaiting you.

And yet, no one track can fully encapsulate the directions Aseitas take their sound. “Impermanence” has the punky, mathcore energy of a Car Bomb track, while “Horse of Turin” leans into the atmospheric and melodic tendencies they established on their debut. While seemingly at odds with the band’s crushing grooves, it actually serves as an effective counterbalance, especially with the final crescendo that ultimately devolves into a blistering cacophony of crashing guitars. On “Chrism,” the band trades their heavy grooves for panic chords, with a main riff that’s about as catchy as you can get in the broader mathcore universe.

While Aseitas have always had a penchant for crafting extended compositions, the latter half of False Peace stretches their songwriting well past the ambitious tracks on their debut. “Spite/Sermon,” “Blood Into Oil,” and “Behemoth’s Dance” take listeners on dense sonic journeys, with short tracks in between allowing only a taste of respite before the next quest commences. Each of these tracks dips into different but adjacent territory, with heavier grooves akin to a death-doom version of Meshuggah and atmospheric and post-metal flirtations you might find on an Ulcerate record. There are some nice experiments thrown into the mix as well, particularly the solo piano that closes out “Blood Into Oil.” Even the shorter interludes add depth to the album’s sound, such as the combination of sliding math rock guitar and hand drumming that closes out the proceedings on “Pieces.”

The one caution I’ll convey regarding False Peace is its run time. At just under an hour and fifteen minutes, it’s a hefty listen, especially considering how dense and abrasive the music is throughout. In my view, the album is well worth the investment, and I encourage any fan of off-kilter death metal to give this a shot as soon as possible. Just be prepared to buckle down and truly digest what Aseitas have to offer on each track. There’s a great deal of immediate enjoyment but far more deep-seeded value to discover as well, and a passive listen won’t provide the full picture of what Aseitas have accomplished here.

But to be clear, this point bears repeating: False Peace is a sophomore triumph that surpasses the lofty expectations the band established on their debut. Given the complexity of their sound, there was no way of predicting how Aseitas would elevate their unique brand of groove-oriented dissonant tech death. The reality the band have unleashed capitalizes on this blend of influences to produce something far more fully realized, with an extended sonic palette pulling in shades of industrial and post-metal to compliment a more robust approach to avant-garde death metal. Or to put it in simpler terms, False Peace is a collection of nonstop bangers you need in your life immediately.

…

False Peace is available July 10 via Lizard Brain Records (CDs, shirts) and September 25 via Translation Loss Records (vinyl).

Comments

AseitasAvant-garde metalCar Bombdeath metalGodfleshImperial TriumphantIon DissonanceJesumathcoreMeshuggahmetalpost-metalPyrrhonUlcerate

About The Author

Scott Murphy

"In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger - something better - pushing right back." - Albert Camus

Related Posts

  • Dawnwalker – Ages

    Eden Kupermintz
    January 4, 2021
  • Deftones – Black Stallion

    Joshua Bulleid
    December 16, 2020

Patreon

Ko-fi

Podcast

All the Heavy Lifting

Latest Reviews

  • Dawnwalker – Ages

    Eden Kupermintz
    January 4, 2021
    Here's an age-old truth: fragile beauty is something that is aesthetically magnetic. The idea of the weakness, the flee... Read More...
  • Deftones – Black Stallion

    Joshua Bulleid
    December 16, 2020
    White Pony (2000) was the record that first introduced electronics into Deftones's sound. It is therefore suitable that ... Read More...
  • Wytch Hazel – III: Pentecost

    Pete Williams
    December 7, 2020
    With the continuing wave of traditional heavy metal just plowing us all over, I’ve come to realize there’s a kind of an... Read More...
  • Tombs – Under Sullen Skies

    Pete Williams
    December 7, 2020
    When we get band promos, we typically receive a few things. Of course we get the album, but we also get a lot of promot... Read More...