Here we go with 'Rise To Dominate', from up and coming death metal unit Aeon. These guys are basically Sweden's answer to Deicide. From the rather simplistic (and at times completely laughable) blasphemous lyrical content to the 'Glen Benton' jr. vocal stylings of Timmy Dahlstrom, no one has ever really nailed it quite this well. The only difference being that Tommy's vocals are a bit more intelligible than those of Glen. Being that the comparison's to Deicide are beyond inevitable, it's important to note that 'Rise To Dominate' has more in common with 'Legion' era Deicide than it does with 'The Stench Of Redemption'.

To their credit, Aeon does manage to shift gears somewhat, about half way through the album, on the track "You Pray To Nothing". The slow semi-droning riff brings to mind Morbid Angel's "Where The Slime Live". And even vocally, Tommy does manage to sound alot like David Vincent. In terms of picking death metal vocalists to idolize and imitate, Glen and David are two of the best for that. Although developing a signature sound is the best way to go, if you're gonna imitate anyone, picking out legends of their respective genre isn't a bad way to go. Having a one off song is about as different as this album gets though, because Aeon immediately goes back into hyper Deicide worship mode for the remainder of the album.

Another small detail to note is Tommy's accent. Though he does an above par job vocally, especially with the lyrics being in english, there are times throughout the course of the album where 'Beneath The Remains' era Sepultura comes to mind. Back when Max Cavalera's pronunciation was still lacking, some of the words used to come out funny, and it's no different with Tommy. Ultimately, it's a rather small detail  in the grand scheme of things that will most likely go unnoticed. But for those that were around back then (anyone over the age of 25), it might remind you of the same thing.

All things considered, 'Rise To Dominate' isn't a bad album, in any way. It's simply lacking any real identity of it's own. From sounding like classic Deicide then moving into classic Morbid Angel territory for a quick minute, there's no establishment of what Aeon themselves are really supposed to sound like. Working on developing their own sound would be in their best interests.

On the other hand, if their sole intent was to be a Deicide clone, then they've succeeded. If Carcass was able to spawn an entire sub-genre of imitators before their untimely demise, there really is no reason why Deicide can't have a legion of their own.