It’s been five long years and a hard wait since the last SULPHUR AEON album “The Scythe Of Cosmic Chaos”, a time only shortened by the live album “Unausspechliche Kulte” three years ago. But now it’s time to praise The Great Cthulhu again with “Seven Crowns And Seven Seals”. The German masters of dark Lovecraftian art prove that it was worth waiting a long time for a new album of theirs as SULPHUR AEON released another astonishing album that keeps the enormously high level of the first three albums. “Seven Crowns And Seven Seals” is unmistakeably SULPHUR AEON but also adds some new dimensions to the gloomy sound of the band. And all these ideas fit perfectly not only in the context of the song but also to the sound of the SULPHUR AEON in general. Just listen to the classic Metal influences in ‘Usurper Of The Earth And Sea’ as a first example. It is no wonder that the band evolved their songwriting skills to perfection in the five years that have passed. Thus “Seven Crowns And Seven Seals” features masterpieces like ‘The Yearning Abyss Devours Us’ or ‘Arcane Cambrian Sorcery’, probably the most catchy song that is possible for a band like SULPHUR AEON. But the absolute master strokes are the two nine minute long epics at the end of the album. With the title track the band created a masterpiece of art with the help of two co-songwriters: Laurent Teubl from CHAPEL OF DISEASE and former SECRETS OF THE MOON guitar player Michael Zech did their part to refine ‘Seven Crowns And Seven Seals’. This song lives from the dark oppressive groove in the beginning before a quiet, even somehow withdrawn part with some ’70s inspired guitar leads calm the atmosphere down for a while, only to turn into a devouring wake at the edge of madness. In the end of this song SULPHUR AEON even surprises with some clear vocals. The album finishes with ‘Beneath The Ziqqurrats’ in the best possible way, an obliterating massive dark monolith with all I really love about SULPHUR AEON. After listening to “Seven Crowns And Seven Seals” over and over again, I wonder if and how this band will be able to outdo themselves in the future. If you want to open the gateways, visit www.facebook.com/sulphuraeon, www.van-records.com or www.facebook.com/vanrecords