Year: 2020
Total Time: 51:44
Label: Season Οf Mist
Lately there has been a lot of talk about the Portuguese Black Metallers GAEREA and, more specifically, from the moment they signed to Season Of Mist, through which they release their new album, “Limbo”. The new record is their second full-length, which is released two years after the exceptionally good “Unsettling Whispers” and four years after their self-titled debut EP. So, let’s see if they justify all this noise of the recent months.
The Portuguese are another band of the, so-called by some, “new wave of Black Metal”, with strong influences in their sound from the Polish scene and particularly by MGLA (the most influential band in metal in recent years) and BEHEMOTH. Firstly the image of the band, which is also influenced by the MGLA, an occurrence that has reached epidemic proportions, as more and more bands appear with hoods and covered faces, something that is starting to become tedious. Regarding the music, there are no great surprises as they follow the well-known Polish Black Metal formula with the combination of extreme and melodic elements, while reaching the limits of DSBM, with influences from the Swedes SHINING. Also, the melodies at times are reminiscent of SVARTIDAUDI and MISÞYRMING. Although a fan of this particular sound, the album, despite the time I gave it (I have been listening to it for about 2 months), did not manage to touch me, as it lacks the surprise, the unexpected that will make GAEREA stand out and differentiate themselves from the bands.
“Limbo” is not a bad record and, of course, nor the masterpiece that some people try to convince us with their superficial, hasty reviews. The new album is synthetically inferior to “Unsettling Whispers” and while maintaining the same musical approach, it differs in melodies and atmosphere in order to become more accessible, resulting in fatigue from some point onwards. GAEREA prove with their new album that they can easily compose a record of remarkable “modern” Black Metal, but nothing more than that. Especially in a year where we have in this particular sound great records from AVERSIO HUMANITATIS, SELBST and PANZERFAUST’s masterpiece. I would suggest everyone to leave “Limbo” for a while, listen to the band’s previous records and then listen to it again and they will notice that their opinion will be different.
Rating: 6.5/10
Editor: Nikos Manousis
Related Link: GAEREA – Facebook Page
