Album Review: Distant – Aeons Of Oblivion (Unique Leader)

Distant, the band that appears to never sleep, are a six-piece relentless slam-infused deathcore band, hailing from Rotterdam in The Netherlands and Bratislava in Slovakia. The band are set to release Aeons Of Oblivion via Unique Leader on the 11th June.

Aeons Of Oblivion wraps up the story of Tyrannotophia, the realm of the doomed and the sound of the world’s damnation.  This is the story’s conclusion and the final part to the band’s previous releases Dawn Of Corruption (2020) and Dusk Of Anguish (2021). This full-length album totals over one hour of tormenting hymns that deal with Tyrannt’s conquest and hunger for revenge. Featuring five new songs with guest spots including Adam Warren of Oceano and Kyle Anderson of Brand of Sacrifice.

A combination of 2020’s Dawn of Corruption and 2021’s Dusk of Anguish, alongside some new tracks. This is the Distant record to hear this year. Hell, it’s the slam/deathcore record to hear this year. Over an hour of their inimitable slamming death noise, the story of Tyrannotophia is coming to an end and in a predictably savage way.

First things first, let’s talk about the Tyrannotophia story first and give massive props to Distant for crafting such a world. This level of storytelling isn’t something you associate with this style of music. The realm of the damned and the tribulations it suffers is something you might expect from a power/traditional heavy metal band. So to get such detail, brought to life in brutal fashion, is worthy of praise.

Secondly, let’s deal with the fact that 12 of these 18 tracks are from the two previous EPs. Alongside an intro (Pandemonium), if you’ve been listening all along, there’s 5 new tracks to hear. It’s those that will be focused on in their review as we’ve previously written words about both Dawn of Corruption (read here) and Dusk of Anguish (read here). However, it has to be said that the decision to change the order really adds a freshness to things. The stories in those EPs is intersected with the grander epic that is this album. It should also be said that everything works together perfectly.

Distant deal in blistering noise, slamming deathcore with an unbelievable amount of fire in their souls. This is more than just crushing heaviness. It’s heaving, pulsating and hungry deathcore that makes you pray for the kingdom of Tyrannotophia to fall once and for all. Just so you don’t have to hear about the horrors anymore. Maybe Distant’s next inspirations will be something less horrific, resulting in a more mellow sound?

Unlikely and who would really want that?! After all, they’re one of the hottest deathcore bands around and Aeons of Oblivion proves it. Dropping a new one early on, the title track features Adam Warren of Oceano and it is utter filth. Distant at their heaviest, which is saying something considering what’s around it.

The other new tracks come at the end of the album. Several as part of the ‘ritual’ section and kicking off with I: Cyklus. Which is 1:50 of haunting melody, the cool down after Dusk of Anguish and the warm up to Ritual II: Rakva before the new track, Ritual III: Vermilion Rivers’ brings tectonic sized riffs. The sheer weight of this track is something else. Distant do heavyweight deathcore like nobody else. That is has just a touch of melody is all the more impressive. The ritual section then ends with Ritual IV: Hull of Crows.

It’s almost over. This mammoth endurance ending with two new tracks. The first of which is The Tyrannt’s Covenant featuring Kyle Anderson of Brand of Sacrifice. Touches of grind, the sharp percussion cuts through the haze of blood created by buzzsaw guitars and gurgling guttural vocals. The echoing speech builds up to one of 2021’s most brutal breakdowns.

Finally Maledictus wraps up an absolutely exhausting listen with a simplified blast of heavy fury, deathcore disgust and destruction. The tales of Tyrannotophia have come to an end and in brutal but unsurprisingly harsh fashion.

The crowning glory of Distant’s career so far. This is going to be a tough one to top in the future.

Distant – Aeons of Oblivion Full Track Listing:

1. Pandemonium
2. Hellmouth
3. Temple Of Taglaroth (ft. Mendel bij de Leij of ex-Aborted)
4. Aeons Of Oblivion (ft. Adam Warren of Oceano)
5. Graveborn
6. The Offering
7. Oedipism
8. Dawn Of Corruption (ft. Jason Evans of Ingested)
9. Cryogenesis (ft. Lochie Keogh of Alpha Wolf)
10. The Void
11. The Eternal Lament
12. Dusk Of Anguish (ft. John Robert C. of The Last Ten Seconds of Life)
13. Ritual I: Cyklus
14. Ritual II: Rakva
15. Ritual III: Vermilion Rivers
16. Ritual IV: Hull Of Crows
17. The Tyrannt’s Covenant (ft. Kyle Anderson of Brand of Sacrifice)
18. Maledictus

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