| Apolutrosis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2003 | |||
| Genre | Christian metal, technical death metal | |||
| Length | 34:59 | |||
| Label | Hope Prevails | |||
| Aletheian chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Phantom Tollbooth |  |
| The Whipping Post | 84/100 [2] |
Apolutrosis is the debut album of Aletheian, in 2003. The band was originally known as Crutch.
The website Metal Maniacs (June 2004) wrote "While some of the guitar parts sound a little rusty and slightly off-key in spots, the acoustics, overall presentation, clean-to-harsh vocal jumps and progressive songwriting make this outing a keeper. Fans of Control Denied, Sceptic, Cynic and Nightwish should find haven in this one." [3] "By combining their strong command of expression and composition with exceptional musicianship, Aletheian have set a new standard for progressive Death Metal." writes Smother.net [3] Norwegian SCREAM Magazine (November 2003) wrote "The band seems a little drowsy in these parts, and the progrock sounding parts are dragged out a bit too much, before new musical faces appear." [3] Matt Morrow of The Whipping Post reports "Aletheian has dared to step out on a limb with this technical and progressive slab of metal. In this reviewer's opinion, it was a risk worth taking and was nicely executed." [2] [3] Black-Cauldron.com stated "This CD stayed in this reviewer's player for 2 days straight at one point. The more I listened to it, the more it grew on me. If you like your metal extreme and fast with little regard for technicality, you probably won't like this CD. If you hate extreme metal to intermix strings, piano and clean vocals, then this isn't for you. But if you like your music not to follow a predictable formula, and you are a fan of the various musical styles mentioned throughout this review, or if you just like to hear something different from the norm, then you should check this CD out. The production is quite good, the instruments are played with technical precision and prowess, the songs are highly creative and extremely enjoyable to listen to, and the last song left me eager for more. I would highly recommend this disc and sincerely hope that this isn't all Aletheian has to offer." [3] Finally, Len Nash of The Phantom Tollbooth wrote "Crutch is now a good place to start to find some good American bands that play good Euro Metal. Plus, there is a nice layout for the CD booklet artwork." [1]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Prelude" | 3:04 |
| 2. | "Hamartia" | 5:07 |
| 3. | "Exaleiphein - Movement 1" | 1:57 |
| 4. | "Movement 2" | 4:40 |
| 5. | "Splagchna" | 4:09 |
| 6. | "Xenos - Movement 1" | 5:46 |
| 7. | "Movement 2" | 6:43 |
| 8. | "Benediction" | 8:33 |
| Total length: | 39:59 | |
Aletheian
Additional musicians
Production
Atomic Opera are a hard rock band from Houston, Texas. Their style blends progressive rock, art rock, metal, medieval influences, and eastern music.
One is a Christian progressive rock concept album by multi-instrumentalist Neal Morse and his fourth studio album. Released in 2004, this was released as both a single-CD album and a special edition double-CD with deleted tracks and cover songs.
Becoming the Archetype is an American Christian metal band formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1999. They have released five albums on Solid State Records. Dichotomy, which was released in November 2008, sold around 2,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen Soundscan. The CD debuted at No. 18 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the top 100 of the Billboard 200. The band is part of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal.
Conceived in Fire is the sixth album by the Christian metalcore band Living Sacrifice. It was the band's final album before 2008 when the band reunited, minus Percussionist Matthew Putman.
Aletheian are a Christian progressive/melodic death metal band. They formed in Lebanon, Pennsylvania in 1997 under the name Crutch, and then changed their name to "Aletheian" prior to the 2003 album Apolutrosis. Guitarist Alex Kenis joined Becoming the Archetype in 2007. In the early 2007, Aletheian signed to IronClad Recordings, an imprint of Metal Blade Records.
The Physics of Fire is the second album by the progressive death metal band Becoming the Archetype. Released on May 8, 2007, the album features a departure from the band's previous metalcore sound and shifts to a more progressive death metal sound. While the metalcore influences are still there, they are not as prominent as they were on Terminate Damnation. This is also the first and only album featuring Aletheian guitarist Alex Kenis.
Dimensions is the third album by the Christian progressive thrash metal band Believer, released in 1993 on both Roadrunner Records and R.E.X. Records. The album's last song, "Trilogy of Knowledge", is split into four separate parts and tells of the life of Jesus Christ. The lyrics recount events from the Bible, and include opera vocals, orchestral instruments, acoustic guitars, distorted guitars, and more. Although the album was critically lauded, the band disbanded the following year, but reformed in 2005.
Dying Vine is a 2005 studio album by the band Aletheian. The band re-released the album in 2008 under their label, IronClad Records, a branch of Metal Blade Records. In 2015 the band re-released the album a third time for the original ten year anniversary on their Bandcamp page. The first re-release also featured a cover of the song "How Could I" by the band Cynic.
The Blueprint Dives is the fourth studio release by the Norwegian Christian metal band Extol. Recorded at the end of 2004 at Top Room Studios and produced by Børge Finstad and Extol, Blueprint was released on February 21, 2005, on Century Media. The album met with a widely positive reception and received a Spellemannprisen nomination. On this album, Ole Børud and Christer Espevoll left Extol, and the band was joined by the members of the rock band Ganglión, Tor Magne S. Glidje and Ole Halvard Sveen.
Synergy is the third studio album by Norwegian Christian extreme metal band Extol. It was released in 2003 on Century Media, but was licensed to Solid State Records.
Alteration is the debut album by Australian/Indonesian band Altera Enigma, recorded over 2 years and released on January 2006. The emotional and sophisticated style found on the album drew comparisons to Liquid Tension Experiment, Gordian Knot, and Cynic.
Negative B is the second and last album by the Swedish band Sanctifica, released on Rivel Records in 2002. This album saw the band abandoning their previous black metal style for a more alternative, electronic, avantgarde, experimental, progressive death metal sound. The album received mixed reviews, others finding the album too bizarre, unfocused and unbalanced, while others praised it for its unique style. Many fans of Sanctifica's old style were disappointed on the drastic style change, but Negative B brought the band a new group of fans from the progressive metal crowd.
For the Incomplete is the first studio album by the death metal band Soul Embraced. Tracks 8-11 are featured on The Fleshless EP.
Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams is the debut album by Indonesian extreme metal band Kekal released in 1998. Vocalist Harry left the band after the album's release.
Chaos & Warfare is a split album between the bands Kekal, from Indonesia, and Slechtvalk, from the Netherlands, released in 2002 through Fear Dark Records.
Throes of Absolution is the debut album of the Christian death metal band, 7 Horns 7 Eyes. This is the only album to feature Ryan Wood, who left to join Project 86. In the early process of writing this album, Original Vocalist Kyle Wood, quit the band to be married, but is still featured as a composer.
Schaliach was a Christian metal band formed by Peter Dalbakk and Ole Børud from Hamar, Norway. Dalbakk served as the band's vocalist, while Børud handled all the instrumentation. The band released one studio album, Sonrise, in 1996 through Petroleum Records. Three songs from that recording were then featured on the Rowe Productions compilation album Northern Lights: Norwegian Metal Compilation, which was also released in 1996. The band also contributed the song "Purple Filter" to the compilation album In the Shadow of Death: A Scandinavian Extreme Music Compilation, released in 2000 through Endtime Productions. Dalbakk was also part of the unblack metal band Vardøger, and Børud had joined the progressive death metal band Extol and also started a career as a solo artist. The two artists would years later, in 2015, team up again to found the progressive death metal project Fleshkiller. The genre performed by the band was described variously as doom metal, death metal, death-doom, Gothic metal, black metal, melodic death metal, and progressive metal. Børud's guitar work was strongly influenced by classical music, with one reviewer describing it as a "metal symphony." Its lyrics were explicitly Christian, drawing heavily from the Bible and emphasizing the love of God for all humans. Schaliach has been compared to the output from Extol, Amorphis, Metallica, Solitude Aeturnus, Dream Theater, Threshold, Shadow Gallery, and Teramaze. Most critics were favorable to Sonrise — it was rated highly by HM writer Matt Morrow and by two reviewers from the Christian website The Phantom Tollbooth, and described by the webzine Chronicles of Chaos as "excellent". However, Rock Hard was less favorable and considered Schaliach boring.
Gnashing of Teeth, originally Enslaved, was an American technical metal band that originated in Dayton, Ohio in 1999. The band has played with bands such as Abated Mass of Flesh, Every Knee Shall Bow, Extol, A Plea for Purging, Wolves at the Gate and Corpus Christi. The band played Cornerstone Festival in 2011.
Vardøger was a Christian extreme metal band from Hamar, Norway. Formed in 1994 under the name Hidden Paradise, the members of the band at the time were all involved in other musical projects and so treated Hidden Paradise as a side project. Several songs were written between 1995 and 1997, almost enough for an entire album, and the band changed its name to Vardøger, but the group disbanded before an album could be released. In 2000, the band contributed the symphonic black metal song "Footprints of Thunder" to the compilation album In the Shadow of Death: A Scandinavian Extreme Music Compilation.
Sonrise is the debut studio album from the Norwegian Christian metal band Schaliach. It was released in 1996 through Petroleum Records to a mostly positive critical reception. In particular, the guitar work from Ole Børud was praised. In 2005, Momentum Scandinavia re-issued the album with an additional track - "Purple Filter", that originally appeared on a compilation album.