Album Review: Aviana – Corporation (Arising Empire)

Last year many people experienced dark times and suffered great loss. Joel Holmqvist, vocalist of Swedish metalcore act Aviana, was one of those people. Despite the successful release of their highly successful sophomore album Epicenter via Arising Empire in 2019, all his former bandmates declared they were leaving Aviana in March 2020.

However, Holmqvist quickly realised that he was not done with Aviana and decided to continue with the project himself. Throughout the pandemic, he has gathered strength to build something new and special – the next chapter of Aviana.

Aviana’s next chapter is the new album ‘Corporation’, set for release on September 30th, 2022, via Arising Empire.

What a messy situation Aviana found itself in. Yet from that mess, the band rises and releases one hell of an album. An album of metalcore bangers infused with glorious melody and hardcore ferocity. An album with anthems, intense beatdowns, dark lows and bright highs.

A short and effects laden intro (Curriculum) builds up to a welcoming hit of heavy intensity. The metalcore sound of Aviana really growing in strength as it flows into Obsession and things get downright chaotic. The instrumental velocity matched by vocals that spit absolute fire and the chorus soaring high.

The intro of Rage sets up a blistering sound nicely. Aviana swinging metallic groove and technicality with all the might of a wild beast. The mellower pre-chorus does little to quench the bloodthirstiness of it.

Ex-Aviana vocalist and current vocalist of Invent Animate, Marcus Vik then features on the scathing and death-infused Paradox. A track that evolves into something more unusual as it goes on but ends in unbridled and roaring heaviness. Before Oblivion stomps and crashes its way through the mind matter, delivering one of the album’s most powerful choruses, and Retaliation, where the energy reaches downright fever pitch until it eventually breaks in the most brutal sounding way possible.

After so much unrelenting savagery, a bit of 80’s style-synth and a more dramatic approach is quite welcome on Anomaly. It’s still got metalcore punch but it’s a much more melodic one. As does the effects-heavy Transcendent, with its epic chorus.

Fear not though, the unparalleled heaviness is back with aplomb on the crashing veracity of Illuminate and the bouncy metalcore anthem that is Overcome. The latter is such a crowd-pleaser and seems tailor made for a room full of people to go mental to.

This stunning return is then capped off with an outro called Negligence. All about effects, it’s an outro layered with melody and atmosphere, and eases the mind nicely. Ready to hit play and go again.

Aviana – Corporation Full Track Listing:

1. Curriculum
2. Obsession
3. Rage
4. Paradox (feat. Marcus Vik)
5. Oblivion
6. Retaliation
7. Anomaly
8. Transcendent
9. Illuminate
10. Overcome
11. Negligence

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