Fans of old school doom metal should be well familiar with this band. Solitude Aeturnus inhabit the classic post-Black Sabbath, post-St. Vitus territory, with some refined Candlemass and even earlier Fates Warning influences thrown in for good measure. "Downfall" is not really the band's best work. I think they went as far as to call it their least favorite album, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad record all in itself. The first four songs ("Phantoms," "Only This (And Nothing More)," "Midnight Dreams," and "Together And Wither") are excellent actually. Unlike their British counterparts Solstice, Solitude Aeturnus are lucky enough to have a great singer in their ranks. Robert Lowe has a very strong clean voice. His vocals just soar all over the place, while the rest of the band come up with very exceptional musical accompaniment, creating a sturdy corridor of sound through which the powerful energy flow is channeled. The rest of the album, however, is sort of hit or miss musically. The first four tracks are followed by two mediocre fillers, "Elysium" and "Deathwish." The three remaining songs get the album back on track, albeit with some difficulty. "These Are The Nameless" is a good song, but "Chapel Of Burning" is lagging in my opinion. Luckily, "Concern" finishes things off in a fairly strong fashion, with some solid riffs and solos, so my overall response to this CD is still pretty favorable despite some duds. Solitude Aeturnus may have better albums in their catalogue, but that should not be the reason to belittle whatever good things "Downfall" has to offer.

© 2002 boris