IT’SAEGAEON WHAT THE FUCK!
Ok, so Aegaeon is a very specific band. I get it. But I can’t overstate how important their body of work is, and how much I respect them as an institution.
While everyone else was truly fucking around in the peak of the “myspace deathcore” days, like, Aegaeon was pioneering this kind of ethereal, atmospheric sound. Like, you all love Fallujah right? This was BEFORE that style of Fallujah and arguably better. Like, to give you some context: this Epcame out in 2009. TWO THOUSAND AND NINE. WHO was making stuff like this in 2009? Insane! Like in the middle of like, Chelsea Grin releasing “Desolation of Eden” and Carnifex releasing “Diseased” like here is lil ol' Aegaeon with some true forward-thinking stuff. True innovation. I was absolutely floored the second I heard it. And their output keeps getting better! Age is a masterpiece but we’ll save that for later (but also go listen to the most sprawling, atmospheric masterpiece that is Age).
Anyway. James Martin is a legend. Arguably one of the lowest frontmen in the scene. It’s got that effect where it’s all very orchestrated and conceptual – all their stuff is “albums” with big sprawling interludes and lots of cohesion. And he just keeps hammering that thread with just gurgle after gurgle. No highs. No variety. Just truly voice as an instrument and the power of atmosphere when you strip away like, vocal dynamics. Am I comparing Aegaeon to Philip Glass? Maybe. It won’t be for everyone. It’s probably the reason Aegaeon is Aegaeon and Fallujah is the name brand. But I admire the lack of compromise, like, unironically its so fucking cool. I love anyone that will make a statement and lean into a vocal style. There is no band that truly sounds like Aegaeon.
But that’s just the vocals. They were on the cutting edge on composition and drums too. Drummer does all this atmosphere and keys and programming, like, everyone is a genius. Guitar work is flawless. You get riffage without staccato breakdowns. The bass is CLANGY before CLANG was a thing people were doing and driving for in like 2012. You can see all the potential on this EP, and then listen through their SPRAWLING discography to see it fully realized. This EP had so much play time for me. Like, imagine, you’re running Total Deathcore and all you hear day in and day out is like, terribly produced “myspace deathcore” and then you hear this. Jaw dropped. Ugh I’m getting amped just thinking about this EP again.
Anyway. I think this is such a crazy outlier in the scene. I want to shed some light on the often-underappreciated Aegaeon. Love this band, love this EP. I hope you do too! Its not for everyone, I get it. It’s a classic Nik band. “This is deathcore and all the vocals are low and and and” yeah I get it! Start your own label and DON’T press Aegaeon then! Until then you HAVE to buy it and you HAVE to acknowledge that Aegaeon rules and that I have great taste. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
It's kind of deathcore. Kind of pre-sludgewave vibes too (low vocals, clang bass, atmosphere). Kind of myspace. Like remember when all these “fake deathcore” bands like The Zenith Passage, Fallujah, River of Nihil, Warforged and The Faceless were all doing their thing? This was BEFORE that, and in that same kind of crowd. I think things could have gone differently for Aegaeon in a different world. But they compromised too little. They’re the embodiment of “you can’t be good and popular” in my opinion. Every other band on that list had to get really corny and listenable in order to get mainstream appeal. Aegaeon held it down. No compromise. More niche, but more pure imo.
ANYWAY. Sorry to just go on a tangent here, but I just am already reading all these hater comments in my head, haha. Still so much to talk about and enjoy. Like this art! Its that CLASSIC turn of the 2010 digital space art. Like, to a T. Obsessed. Didn’t want to wander too far away from that because “big space being in space with a planet” is just so era appropriate. This is a great one for Ben to shine on. That’s right! He’s back! We’ve got a good ‘ol fashioned Ben Hoagland original here. Hits everything on the OG but a bit meaner and a bit more color. Inserts are standard fare. Just very very WV all around on the packaging and presentation here.
As always, This one-time pressing is limited to 305 copies across five variants:
50 Exponential Sigcendence (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 The Deprivation of Sigistence (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 The Sigception (Wax Vessel Signature)
50 Perception
100 Splatter Devoured
5 Golden Mage
All of this housed in:
1.5x thickness Matte single pocket jackets
Double sided matte full color insert
Black polylined innersleeves
Gold foil numbering
Stuffed into polybags
Hype Sticker’d
Custom WV Mailers
Matching WV Album art sticker
These will be in hand and ready for shipping momentarily! And PLEASE go check out Aegaeon’s bandcamp and listen to the rest of their albums!
Orders go live Monday, 1/23 at 1:00 CST
