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Bretus Premiere “The Third Mystic Eye” from Aion Tetra

Posted in audiObelisk on August 27th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

bretus

Italian doomers Bretus will release their new album, Aion Tetra, on Sept. 20 (Sept. 27 in North America). Out as their first offering through Ordo MCM, the 43-minute release collects nine tracks that continue along the sonic path set by 2017’s …From the Twilight Zone (review here), which departed from the sludgier fare of 2015’s The Shadow over Innsmouth (discussed here) and their formative 2012 debut, In Onirica, that followed two demos that were the band’s only releases to that point after forming in 2000. In place of the scream-topped dirges, there has emerged in Bretus‘ sound a traditionalism that calls to mind practitioners of the style’s truest incarnations — the doom metal of Candlemass, of Reagers-era Saint Vitus, of Black Sabbath and Reverend Bizarre, kin to US bands like Orodruin and Ogre and others who might seek to bring doom to bear with as little distraction from their purpose as possible. One wouldn’t say Aion Tetra lacks an individual personality, just that the Catanzaro four-piece — vocalist Zagarus, guitarist Ghenes, bassist Janos and drummer Striges — are clear about what they want that personality to be doing. They want it to be dooming the fuck out. And so it is.

And while I know crazier things have happened in the universe than a sludgy band cleaning up their vocal approach and going in a different direction, among the distinguishing factors in Aion Tetra is just how poised Bretus sound in doing so. bretus aion tetraHaving come through the last record, they would seem to have taken the lessons of that stylistic shift and implemented them into tracks like “Mark of Evil” or earlier cuts like opener “The Third Mystic Eye” (premiering below) or the keyboard-laced second track “Priests of Chaos.” Bretus are able to careen and lumber through an atmosphere of the purest doom simply because they execute their material without any hesitation. They’re all in. Even on the quiet interludes “Aion Tetra” and “Fields of Mars” — the former instrumental, the latter with vocals appearing as an intro for closer “City of Frost” — the brooding execution is paramount, and as they dip into willfully grandiose fare like the centerpiece “Deep Space Voodoo” or the classically metal “Cosmic Crow,” they do so with an underlying sense of the weird that speaks to not only where Bretus are as a band these 19 years after they first got together, but where they still might be going. It is that perspective, the point of view they ultimately will take on doom, that will define their work going forward, and one can hear the foundations of that in this material. It serves to make Aion Tetra an even more exciting listen.

In the chugging verse of “Prisoner of the Night” or the plodding stomp of “The Third Mystic Eye” and its subtly layered hook, Bretus show that they quite simply have figured it out. They know who they are as a band, and more, who they want to be, and they’re putting in the effort to realize that vision. Aion Tetra, like …From the Twilight Zone and their early work before it, demonstrates that their sound is in progress, but nearly two decades on from their start, there’s no way to see that as anything other than admirable. Bretus continue to explore, to grow darker and more efficient in their sonic communication, and Aion Tetra is their finest hour to-date in its manifestation of the tenets of doom. Wherever they might go from here, they’ve very obviously mastered the form. Nailed it.

You can hear “The Third Mystic Eye” premiering on the player below, courtesy of Ordo MCM. More PR wire info follows.

Please enjoy:

ORDO MCM is proud to present BRETUS’ highly anticipated fourth album, Aion Tetra, on CD and vinyl LP formats. The release date shall be September 20th for Europe and September 27th for North America.

Alas, although it’s only been a couple years since their last full-length, the critically acclaimed …from the Twilight Zone, TOTAL DOOM arrives with BRETUS’ fourth album, Aion Tetra. Sweaty, swaggering, and more than a bit bluesy, Aion Tetra is sound of BRETUS hitting a fever pitch of creativity. Almost effortlessly, the band unload one molten crusher after another, with each opening up to reveal new, deeper corridors to their signature sound.

Tracklisting:

1. The Third Mystic Eye
2. Priests of Chaos
3. Prisoner of the Night
4. Aion Tetra
5. Deep Space Voodoo
6. Mark of Evil
7. Cosmic Crow
8. Fields of Mars
9. City of Frost

Bretus is:
Ghenes (High/Low Guitars and Fx),
Zagarus (Vox),
Janos (Bass),
Striges (Drums)

Bretus on Thee Facenooks

Bretus on Bandcamp

Ordo MCM on Thee Facebooks

Ordo MCM website

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Bretus to Release Aion Tetra on Ordo MCM; “Cosmic Crow” Video Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 15th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

bretus

Signing to Ordo MCM makes Italian doomers Bretus kin to a wide variety of darker and extreme metalurgists, from Apshyx to Thangorodrim. The Catanzaro four-piece released their last album, …From the Twilight Zone (review here), which was something of a departure from their prior Lovecraftian themes, in early 2017, and they’ll make their debut on the new label with their fourth album overall, Aion Tetra, this Fall. No exact date has yet been given for the release. Circa-Halloween would make sense, of course, but I haven’t heard anything.

The last album was notable for pulling away from the band’s prior sludge-infused ways, particularly in a shift moving from periodically screamed to exclusively clean vocals. Bretus had been plenty doomed before, of course, but it was a turn that really brought that out in their sound. As to how Aion Tetra will answer that development, I don’t yet know, since I haven’t heard it. But Bretus are giving an initial sampling in the video you can see below for “Cosmic Crow” from the record, and that’s at least something to go on until the rest of the thing shows up later this year.

The video takes footage from old horror movies and live performance clips and brings them together — I’d swear I caught a shot of Murnau’s Nosferatu in there — and sure enough fits the mood of the song effectively.

Dig:

bretus aion tetra

Aion Tetra will be out for the European cult label Ordo MCM (MOURNFUL CONGREGATION, MORTIIS, ASPHYX).

From Ordo MCM:

“We’re proud to announce that the master of Italian doom Bretus signed with us for the release of their new album. Will be released in limited edition cd, vinyl and digital this autumn. Soon more news!”

Bretus is:
Ghenes (High/Low Guitars and Fx),
Zagarus (Vox),
Janos (Bass),
Striges (Drums)

https://www.facebook.com/BretusDoom/
http://bretus.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/OrdoMCM/
http://ordomcm.com/

Bretus, “Cosmic Crow” official video

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