Retrospect: Aeternam – Heir of the Rising Sun (2022)

Triumph! This is the first word that comes to mind when I think of Heir of the Rising Sun. Aeternam hail from Canada and their music can be described as Symphonic Death Metal, combining brutal and clean vocals, with their songs having a middle-eastern flavor. They decided to create a concept album themed around the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed II, starting from Osman’s dream of a glorious Ottoman empire, up until the fall of the city.

Let’s take it from the start. The first thing we come across is the cover, an original design that is nothing less than a masterwork and sets the tone for what we are going to hear next. Then we go to what really matters, the music itself. Overall there are six compositions ranging from 5 to 10 minutes, with an intro and two interludes for a total track list of nine. With each song bringing something new to the table, Aeternam manage to avoid repetition and opt for quality over quantity. 

Take the interludes for example, one of them is the Akathyst hymn that was sung by the people of Constantinople. This happened after a failed attempt of the Ottomans to claim the city, with the civilians attributing this to a miracle. This song is succeeded by the final title, called The Fall of Constantinople which totally captures the feeling of the events. At first we are bombarded by riffs, brutal vocals and epic choirs that make you feel like the Ottoman army is breaching the city. The later part with the clean vocals is the brutal realization the city is falling which sends the first shivers down the spine and at the end we meet a single woman singing a lament in Greek, mourning the loss of her home. Even after countless listens, the end of the album hits hard. 

This is the reality of “Heir…”, the music always complements the concept, the lyrics and story are not just there, they are a core part of the experience. The good part is that each song can still stand out individually, interludes excluded of course. To stay a little more on the music side, Achraf Loudiy is excellent on both types of vocals (brutal and clean), the riffing is inspired and the solos are well executed, with the one in the middle of Where the River Bends, being one of my favorite album moments. The drumming is on the same level giving the punch each instance needs. Additional instruments were also recorded like Bouzouki, Baglama, Violin, Cello and in all fairness, I love when bands go out of the beaten path like that. 

The only negative is that Aeternam has set the bar so high now, that I can’t fathom how “Heir…” can be surpassed in the future. The band has put themselves in a corner, but I would like to be proven wrong and I wish more recent albums brought issues like that to the table. 

95/100

Pavlos Pavlakis

On behalf of Metal Domain