Review: –

14 years have passed since the last Agatus album (‘The Weaving Fates’, 2002) but this long wait worth’s every single day, because with this release we witness history in the making. ‘The Eternalist’ is a genre-breaking album that captures the soul and passion of metal music through the visionary mind of its creator, Eskarth The Dark One. The Dark is without doubt a pure artist, a multi-instrumentalist, a creator with original ideas and vision. With the precious help and creative input of Vorskaath (Zemial), The Dark is offering to the metal universe an artistic creation that combines elements like the passion of Bathory, Warlord and ’70s-inspired prog melodies (in the vein of Eloy); epic majesty and pure metal that through the eyes and heart of The Dark transcends to a unique soundscape of dark heavy metal.

With analogue sound and production, everything sounds warm and clear, far away from the computerised and digital sounds of the last decade. Starting with ‘The Eternalist’ and ‘The Invisible (Fifth Portal To Atlantis)’ we have the connection with the past, but from that moment and on, a complete new universe is opened for our ears and soul. ‘The Oath (Of Magic And Fire)’ is a heavy metal masterpiece and the album hasn’t even started. Besides the great riffs and the heartfelt performance, it is very rare to listen to songs that start godly, but after the first minutes are getting even better! Songs like ‘The Oath…’ and ‘At Dusk I Was Born’ are catchy with great riffs but at the same time stellar lead guitars and melodies dominate everything after the middle. At last, some  inspired guitar work, without getting tired or lacking passion. ‘Perils Of The Sea’ is inspired by the opus of Odyssey and starts with emotional poetic guitar melodies that lead to a profound performance. Many rhythms and melodies change during the songs and the high musicianship is another defining highlight of ‘The Eternalist’. ‘Flight Into Forever’ is another gem of pure inspiration and it combines the best influences of Agatus filtered through their personal glance. ‘Gilgamesh’ is a song previously known to the followers of Agatus, since it was released in a 7″ vinyl EP in 2012, but this new arrangement with the multi-layered orchestration and this addition of ’70s keyboards gives it a new lease of life.

There’s not much more to add to this perfection. Here we have a contender for best album of 2016. Do not miss it, it will grab you anyway.