Reverence for classic material that was made decades before has always been a cornerstone of many sections throughout the different veins of metal with some wholly dedicated to keeping that original sound intact without compromisation, and it’s from the world of doom and stoner music that we still see it happen to great effect without exception. With the sound as diverse and deep as this, it’s only a matter of time before we hear an effort from an unlikely place with a great understanding of the style that cannot be considered anything short of an unexpected but very pleasant surprise. That’s precisely the case that I was presented with when I stumbled upon the debut from Aether, and with what’s brought to the table here, I can only hope it won’t be long before we hear more.

Any debut effort from any band is a wondrous blank slate upon which literally anything can happen, and that makes the factor of intrigue so much more fantastic for those of us simply not knowing what we’re in for with whatever band it is we’re talking about. When you look at the cover art for Aether’s, the mind is certainly put down the path of something immensely psychedelic and fantastically trippy, and it’s the twelve tracks of this album that certainly do follow up on such an unspoken promise with the particular combination of sludge and doom metal alongside clear and present stoner themes giving us a well-textured and colorful performance that is not to be undermined. A clear callback to much of the earlier days of what this style churned out decades ago, and that’s not even bringing up the tasteful covers of Electric Wizard and Type-O Negative, the nearly 70-minute adventure through color and haze with bong in hand that Aether manages to make one hell of an entrance onto the scene with its self-titled effort clearly establishing what this band is all about right out of the very gate. In no small way, it would be in poor taste to even insinuate that Aether didn’t hit the nail right on the head for this massive entrance. There’s still plenty to learn before Aether becomes an act that must be heard for all that it accomplishes, but it’s with all that was delivered in this first effort that I simply cannot implore that you investigate it regardless of any pitfalls the band may have suffered in this first go.

A multi-dimensional creation that isn’t afraid to really stick it to what many other acts in its country attempt, this is an against-the-grain creation for the man behind this and it’s in virtually every way that he managed to do real justice for the entirety of the style with the color, sound, and execution of everything deserving no less than a chef’s kiss from me. Aether is poised to become a real name to know in the underground for anyone wanting their stoner excellence out of unexpected places, and it’s every fiber of my being that tells me this is a name that should not easily be forgotten.

LISTEN to “Aether” on Bandcamp here.

Aether does not have any social media that I could find, so please follow the band on its Bandcamp here in order to stay up to date on any future material from the band.