Changing only their bassist with the addition of Necrophobic's Tobias Cristiansson on this album, Swedish/Dutch supergroup In Aphelion are back! Quickly, too, debut full-length Moribund only being released two years ago, and earlier this year saw another album from most of the band members' day job, said Necrophobic. You'd be forgiving for approaching Reaperdawn a little cautiously, then, not expecting the band's songwriting skills to be as sharp as before. Yet from dramatic opener The Fields in Nadir onwards, In Aphelion quickly prove themselves to be just as adept - if not moreso! That compelling air of Bathory-esque grandeur is present and correct in the likes of the icily melodic A Winter Moon's Gleam, matched with Watainian aggression and passion. Songs do both frequently and do so extremely well, mixing in dark thrash and even some classic heavy metal widdling here and there.

And it's impressive just how dynamic and entertaining the songwriting is. Further From the Sun especially carries you with it on a melodic death/black gallop despite the seven-minute-plus length, an improvement over the previous album where things could feel a little dragged-out at points. There's never that feeling here despite the fact that most songs are over six minutes long (the three-minute or so title track a happy exception, an aggressive and charging thrashy stomper that quickly sinks its hooks into your ears). Even finale Aghori, an eight-minute piece that builds from slow strums into a doom-inflected monster that is no less stirring, ending in near tech-death cacophony.

The Necrophobic-heavy lineup (only Cryptosis drummer Marco Prij not a member) hasn't resulted in a sound that's a pale imitation, In Aphelion often coming across as more aggressive and pounding here. And while the Swedish death-fearers can be forgettable in their weaker moments, the same can't be said for this side-project. When All Stellar Light is Lost rampages like prime era Dissection, violent and bloodthirsty, and in complete contrast with the following The Darkening, slower and just as intense with a touch of classic Emperor to the verses. And that, then, followed by the epic and crushing They Fell Under Blackened Skies with some of the best lead guitarwork on the album and even a touch of prog... there's simply not a weak track present. A more consistently great album even than the debut, In Aphelion remain a definite recommendation.