Italy's Aither presents their first demo, and for my surprise the music isn't symphonic power metal which is so trendy in the "boot country".

Synth work is epic and symphonic at times, but the metal side is dark. Stylish acoustic guitar/piano introduction 'A Fragment of Memory' sets the dark mood and 'The Coming of the Blessed Age' reminds me of Norwegian band Borknagar's later albums, but only partly. Fast tempo and soaring synth are accompanied with catchy dark riffs and fine melody lines, plus harsh growled vocals hinting towards Mr. Vintersorg (yep, of Vintersorg and Borknagar) and some clean ones, too. The clean voice is rather okay, if a bit wobbly, but not making them annoying. And again, they remind of Mr. Vintersorg. 'Alone under the Sky' is a slower song with similar elements, but also more Mediterranean vibe to it. And while the song is catchy, its ideas do not work as well as on 'The Coming...'. There's just not so much happening in the song, unlike on shorter 'The Coming...'.

Sound-wise this is flat and powerless and does not allow the members' skills and the music's power to be fully expressed. Especially 'The Coming...'s fast drumming suffers from thin and shitty sound. The vocalist's accent doesn't really disturb due to mostly growled vocals, but on the clean ones it does to some extent.

A very short demonstration from Aither, but a promising effort from a young band. Next demo is promised to sound more professional, so I'm waiting for it. You can download the demo for free from the band's website, so do not hesitate to get it if dark metal soothes your mind.

Reviewed by Lane
07/23/2006 21:37