Review : SOLUTION .45 – “For Aeons Past”

Solution .45 – For Aeons Past
Release Date: 2010May11 (US)
Label: AFM Records
Rating: 4/5

If there was an award for “The Busiest Man in Metal,” I would have to say that, for the last 2 years or so, Christian Älvestam would be the no-brainer recipient. The former frontman of Scar Symmetry has since joined a couple of bands and contributed vocals on a number of albums.  For the most part, the bands that Christian has been in recently have been fairly good.  Miseration is the shining example; the rest of the pack are Scar Symmetry clones. This is the case for Solution .45, who bear striking similarities to Älvestam’s former band.

After my initial listen, I wasn’t impressed. It sounded a lot like Älvestam-era Scar Symmetry and I thought that was a little bit of a half-assed attempt. However, after a second listen I thought to myself “Wait a minute. The first three Scar Symmetry albums are great and this sounds exactly like them… this isn’t half bad.”  I have now heard the album many times and I like it more with each listen. For Aeons Past is closer to the Scar Symmetry sound that so many of us grew to love, much closer than that band’s first post-Älvestam output, Dark Matter Dimensions.

One of the great things about For Aeons Past is the variety of songs on the album. Each has its own strength and style that makes it whole and stand out on an album where weaker songs could definitely get lost in the mix. I attribute this success to the combination of Älvestam’s amazing talent as a vocalist and the writing of the one-and-only Michael Stanne of Dark Tranquility. Stanne has a knack for injecting melodrama into his brand of melodic death metal, and makes it work very well. Stanne’s lyrics and backing vocals give a needed boost that escalates the final product from ‘good’ to ‘great.’  If you are a fan of him,  Scar Symmetry or the work of Christian Älvestam, go ahead and pick this one up.

01. The Close Beyond
02. Gravitational Lensing
03. Through Night-Kingdomed Gates
04. For Aeons Past
05. Lethean Tears
06. Bladed Vaults
07. Wirethrone
08. On Embered Fields Adust
09. Into Shadow
10. Clandestinity Now