[Seb] Ever since SULPHUR AEON released their previous two albums (Gateway To The Antisphere in 2015 followed by The Scythe Of Cosmic Chaos in 2018) they are widely regarded to be one of the German top bands in the Blackened Death genre. Because of that, their newest album in five years (apart from the live album recorded during their great show at Culthe Fest 2019 in my old hometown Münster) was both eagerly awaited and burdened with very high expectations. Expectations that, for many including me, would even be surpassed by Seven Crowns And Seven Seals.

To no one’s surprise, the lyrics of Seven Crowns And Seven Seals are still dealing with the proverbial “Lovecraftian Horrors” and the universe that H.P. Lovecraft conceived of. Apart from that lyrical constant, there are some subtle changes in SULPHR AEONs musical approach to this album: subtle enough to both please fans of their previous releases and prevent a stylistic gridlock.
While the band already trended towards longer songs around the six-minute-range on the previous album, we’ve got (not counting the intro) only songs between roughly six to roughly nine minutes this time. I almost universally prefer longer tracks as long as the artist can avoid filler and too much repetition, and I can’t find any of that on Seven Crowns And Seven Seals. There’s of course more than just the pure runtime: The earlier albums were very clearly dominated by Death Metal with the occasional Black Metal injection. The current one does encompass a wider range of influences and “bits”, for example what I’d interpret as some sort of weird Space Rock, Groove and Doom Metal, no name only a few. There’s often the danger that something like that sounds forced and just for the sake of doing something new, but that isn’t the case here – it all sounds still very “natural” and “in place”. And of course, the accustomed Blackened Death sound doesn’t have to take the back seat but is merely enhanced the vast majority of the time. M. does seamlessly change between deep growls and harsher Black Metal screams as always, but also experiments with clean vocals on several occasions. And I don’t always think that it was a good idea: what works e.g. on the title track sounds somewhat weird and out of place in e.g. The Yearning Abyss Devours Us.
The title track (created with the participation of Laurent Teubl of Chapel Of Disease and producer Michael Zech) and the subsequent finale are undoubtedly the 19-minute-climax of Seven Crowns And Seven Seals. The former evolves from a casually groovy, dragging beginning to an interplay between stretches that are somewhat psychedelic and remind me of Hawkwind and similar bands, a stomping riff with occasional male choir that could as well be something Amon Amarth prided themselves on, and an occasional black metal frenzy, until the piece finally culminates in a stunning, almost hallucinogenic solo. Beneath The Ziqqurrat, also over nine minutes long, offers a (despite some excursions into “weird” melodies) more straightforward and faster, but no less impressive, conclusion to the album.

As expected, Seven Crowns And Seven Seals is a great album and has a place amongst the very best Blackened Death albums of the entire year. I’d recommend it not only to fans of the exact genre, but to any metal fan. For my part, I am already looking forward to both what the band will come up with next and to seeing the guys live on stage with the current material (at the latest) at Party.San OA 2024!

[Öko] Here it is at last, the fourth album of SULPHUR AEON! Five years we had to wait, but it was worth it!

Seven Crowns And Seven Seals takes everything that made 2018's The Scythe Of Cosmic Chaos so brilliant and expands on it with new compositional means; especially M's vocal performance is great on this album. His highs are more shattering, his lows more powerful, and he uses clear vocals even more frequently, adding a new dimension to the music. In The Yearning Abyss Devours Us, and most effectively on the album's title track, the clean vocals resemble an unholy ritual, giving proceedings a real sense of drama. Damn, the entire record is dramatic! Death metal couldn't be more grandiose.

I feel satisfyingly exhausted after listening to Seven Crowns And Seven Seals. SULPHUR AEON are one of those special bands that seem to be pioneering their own style. Cthulhu Fhtagn!
Anything other than the highest score would be out of place here, therefore: 10/10