If any album can be classified as "cult", it's got to be Quicksand Dream's Aelin - A Story About Destiny. Quicksand Dream, originally known as Epic Irae, muddled around in the underground on and off from 1988 to 2000, before recording a full-length. From that session came Aelin, which was originally released on CD-R with a handmade booklet, and limited to just 30 copies. Luckily for fans of obscure Heavy/Epic Metal everywhere, Planet Metal saw fit to give the album a proper release 10 years after the fact.
Aelin shows influence from a diverse range of artists, including early Maiden and Priest, Rush, Black Sabbath and Hawkwind. The album is proggy and large in scope, with an intriguing story line that in some ways brings to mind Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. The guitar work of Patrick Backlund is highly melodic and almost dream-like in places, but it's Backlund's bass work that is most notable. Bass drives every song as the predominant instrument, bringing to mind Cirith Ungol's first two albums. Vocally, Goran Jacobson fits the Epic Metal bill of being technically poor, but very fitting and endearing for the music at hand.
The album is composed entirely of rather heady material, which should instantly strike a nerve for any fan of this type of music, but will also take multiple listens to fully sink in. Once it does though, it sits very comfortably alongside the genre's high points. Recommended.
01 - Prologue (03:18)
02 - A Child Was Born (04:40)
03 - House of Wisdom (05:38)
04 - Caress of the Breeze (05:13)
05 - Road Goes Ever On (06:37)
06 - The Lighthouse Dream (15:58)
07 - Aelin's Oath (09:27)
Quicksand Dream – Aelin – A Story About Destiny 2000
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