The Aether Tree
"The Children's War"
Review by Angus Maiden
October 2009
I have put off reviewing this album for a long time because there is so much I want to
say about it, yet so little at the same time; more than anything, I want you to merely listen
to it. For this guy pours his heart and soul into his music; but rather than sieving it,
kneading it and cookie-cutting it into a perfectly produced popcrap album, it spills over
the edges, it gets smudged with dirt, its raw emotion shows through like bone in a deep wound. And this is exactly what makes it so beautiful.
An artist’s toil is the pursuit of a perfection that can never be attained, and nothing is more admirable in a work of art like this album than what I call “beautiful imperfection”. His voice is rough and out of tune, his timing is off, the lyrical themes are disjointed and the guitar and piano playing is sloppy. But I beg of you, do not take this as a bad thing, for beneath the unpolished surface is a core that shimmers like a sapphire. The lyrics are absolutely gorgeous because they’re disjointed, the guitar is loose and freewheeling as the piano is whimsical and expressive because they’re sloppy; and his voice, oh his voice - such bittersweet poignancy will never grace the lips of any commercial singer - beauty in imperfection. On top of this there are glimpses of elements like soothing pads, saxophone, and found-sounds, plus a killer rhythm section, that all work together to produce something truly unique and beautiful.
I hold this album very close to my heart, something about it touched me and moved me in a very deep way, and all I can say is “Listen”. Listen.
Related links;
Banned Promotions
Band Promotions
Bands
Music
Roadrunner Records
Metal Blade Records
Rock n Roll
Alternative Rock
Hard Rock
Heavy Metal
Rock
Punk
Death Metal
Stoner Metal
Speed Metal
Grunge
Megadeth
Avenged Sevenfold
AC/DC
Aerosmith
Alice in Chains
Anthrax
Black Sabbath
Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
Motörhead
Megadeth
Venom
Death
Ozzy Osbourne
Queensrcyhe
1Dream Theater
Celtic Frost
Manowar
Dio
Mercyful Fate
Helloween
Bathory
Napalm Death
Carcass
Sepultura
Scorpions
Morbid Angel
Tool
Mayhem
Black Label Society
Chimaira
Coheed and Cambria
Disturbed
Down
Job For A Cowboy
Killswitch Engage
Korn
Marilyn Manson
Meshuggah
Metallica
Motley Crue
Pantera
Queens of the Stone Age
Rob Zombie
Shadows Fall
Slipknot
Slayer
Soundgarden
Static-X
The Sword
Suicide Silence
Trivium
Tool
