review by: Roberto Martinelli

A Darker Monument marks a return to form of Aeturnus' former glory. Well, sort of. While fans of Aeturnus' initial style - the one with the endless, droning riffs and proud, medieval acoustic interludes - may find some of that past splendour to savor here, A Darker Monument is rather more like Shadows of Old, the record that marked Aeturnus' move into slicker, more death metal territory.

Perhaps A Darker Monument is in comparison to the edifice that Aeturnus erected in their previous record, Ascension of Terror (review in issue #7), as the new record is slower and lower. And it's really great.

The criticisms made in the review of Ascension… were too harsh overall, as that record is quite good, but undoubtedly mediocre by Aeturnus' standards. (As of fall, 2004, we're utterly reversing our review of Ascension to proclaim it a triumph -- Roberto) What's been improved on so much on A Darker… is the production, which really gives the heavier compositions more weight. Ares' vocals are fuller and richer, the signature riffs have more depth, and the trademark drumming sounds more organic, which all contribute to a strange sense of thunderous calm.

Like on Shadows of Old Aeturnus still has its share of death metal riffs, which are concentrated mainly in the first half of the album. However, the rampant, obnoxious instances when these elements got out of control on Ascension of Terror have been tempered; so, no more horrendously out of place pinch harmonics here. The only iffy moments here come in song two, where some rather strange, half clean and half harsh, multi-tracked vocal experimentation is going on. Hopefully this will go in the same bin as Ares' clean singing forays on Shadows of Old.

The second half is more like the old band people like me fell in love with due to the relatively relaxed feeling from the absence of such death metal leanings and a mid-paced plod that allows the trademark Aeturnus signatures to come out more, signatures that ironically have been becoming more pronounced since the bands stylistic change when Shadows… was released.

Are Aeturnus' best albums their first two full-lengths? Yes. Will Aeturnus go back to its old style? No. Should we lament this? Not really, for despite a bit of concern after the last record, it turns out that Aeturnus has not lost its character after all. In fact, it's gotten stronger, although the band could still stand to be a bit less brutal. Fans and newcomers alike will definitely like this record from this exciting and original band. (8/10)