November 2020 Feature Release - The Fallen Edition

It's now November which of course means that we'll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we're asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We're really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don't be shy.

This month's feature release for The Fallen is the new album from unusual Belgian outfit Neptunian Maximalism (entitled "Éons") which takes the unusual approach of combining avant-garde jazz with drone metal. I recently read saxy's excellent review of this release & became intrigued so I thought our members of The Fallen might find it interesting too.

https://metal.academy/releases/21673

First of all, let me say that I am flattered that my review of this record was enough to intrigue Daniel enough to check out this record, and include it in this month's clan challenge. And that's even with the knowledge that comparisons are scarce. So thanks.

As for the record itself, you can read my review if you want to know more. But this album is much more tune focused than a number of the drone album's I've heard in recent years. The almost free jazz elements are intriguing and the long song structures allow for some truly great crescendos. That said, the concept surrounding it does feel like the band were trying to compose something that was transcendent (did the album cover not give that away?), the album is too long and meanders a lot, which may be the point as this feels like the perfect soundtrack as you surround yourself in a cloud of smoke. 

But my opinions on this record is quite simple: approach this with an open mind and an endless array of possibilities. If you treat this as a "Drone metal" album (emphasis on metal), then you will be disappointed, as many early reviews showed. I understand that this might not be for everyone, but you would be foolish to not appreciate the leap forward that Neptunian Maximalism are taking in Avant-garde Drone music.

8/10

Writing a review for this one is going to be a massive task, even though I've been thinking about doing it for quite a while. Eons has been on the top end of my year-end list for a while now and I really, really enjoy it just because of how much it caught me off guard at first and how it kept me coming back despite it's gargantuan length. It's an experience like I haven't had before, and it reminds me a lot of Empath from last year in that regard. 

Since it's just so strange though, it's hard for me to really nail down any solid opinions for a review. I'm going to try my best though, since it's a review I want to have finished before the end of 2020 to go along with my year-end list. It's definitely not an album for everyone, but I think that everyone should check it out because it is incredibly unique, unless you've listened to some really off-the-wall avant-garde Jazz in the past. 

4.5/5

OK so I’m gonna have to thank saxy profusely for leading me down this path because “Eons” has quite simply left me with my jaw lying on the ground over the last few days & has single-handedly proven the validity of the push to include some more modern feature releases. It’s an indescribably beautiful & gloriously intimidating 128-minute triple album that truly defies categorization. The most common labels attributed to it seem to be avant-garde jazz & drone metal but neither is a terribly good fit in my opinion. It’s easy enough to see why people want to go down those paths but this is a long way from a jazz release even though it consistently draws upon shared tools. It’s also not a metal release when taken holistically but a good portion of the material seems to borrow from that niche subgenre’s intimidating grandeur & there are certainly a few tracks that are a good fit for that tag. I’d throw in ritual ambient & traditional drone as equally strong components of Neptunian Maximalism's sound, particularly due to the consistent pulse that binds their noise-laden soundscapes & the extensive layering of Eastern-influenced sounds on offer, both of which see me often being reminded of Dead Can Dance although the link is more in the aesthetic than the overall sound. There are hints at krautrock in the celebration of experimentation here too. The more drone metal inspired works on the third record are where things come together in their purest & most gripping realization & I’d suggest that the four tracks it contains are very close to perfect. The more jazz inspired pieces don’t have quite the same effect but are just as intriguing from an artistic point of view.

"Eons" is a dark, brooding, cerebral & spiritually enlightening experience that seems custom-made for someone like me that likes to be challenged both artistically & emotionally by my music. It's interesting that the cover art is a pretty good graphical indication of what you can expect to find contained within actually. You’ll rarely find an album that more successfully takes the listener outside of their comfort zone & into an entirely new world. Just don’t expect that world to be as immediately welcoming as you might hope because the sheer breadth of this musical undertaking is not for the faint of heart. Neptunian Maximalism have conjured up a release that sounds very much like the soundtrack to a ritualistic human sacrifice. It will undoubtedly have you questioning whether you want to watch such an atrocity however you’ll struggle to look away as the process seems to hint at a spiritual transcendence that only exists in our dreams & fantasies. 

4.5/5