Pre-order of Bellum II. You get 1 track now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
Purchasable with gift card
releases May 3, 2024
€8EUR or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Collector's Edition in 4-panel Digipack with 6-page booklet, limited to 1000 copies. The image is a digital mockup. The actual DigiCDs may look slightly different.
Includes digital pre-order of Bellum II.
You get 1 track now
(streaming via the free Bandcamp app
and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the
complete album the moment it’s released.
shipping out on or around May 3, 2024
edition of 1000
82 remaining
Purchasable with gift card
€15EURor more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Limited edition of 199 copies on brown/yellow swirl vinyl, incl. gatefold cover and download.
The image is a digital mockup. The actual vinyls may look slightly different.
Includes digital pre-order of Bellum II.
You get 1 track now
(streaming via the free Bandcamp app
and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the
complete album the moment it’s released.
digital album releases May 3, 2024
item ships out on or around June 7, 2024
edition of 199
Purchasable with gift card
€38EURor more
ltd. A5-DigiCD
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Special Collector's Edition in 4-panel A5-Digipack with 6-page booklet, limited to 100 handnumbered copies. One copy per customer while stock lasts! Orders for multiple copies will be cancelled. The image is a digital mockup. The actual DigiCDs may look slightly different.
Includes digital pre-order of Bellum II.
You get 1 track now
(streaming via the free Bandcamp app
and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the
complete album the moment it’s released.
Sold Out
ltd. 2LP (111x brown vinyl with yellow & black splatter)
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Limited edition of 111 copies on brown vinyl with yellow & black splatter, incl. gatefold cover and download. Available exclusively from Northern Silence and Aquilus, one copy per customer while stock lasts. Orders for multiple copies will be cancelled!
The image is a digital mockup. The actual vinyls may look slightly different.
Includes digital pre-order of Bellum II.
You get 1 track now
(streaming via the free Bandcamp app
and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the
complete album the moment it’s released.
Aquilus is an atmospheric metal band from Melbourne, Australia. The works encompass different styles of atmospheric music inspired by classical, folk, and other genres. Primarily a one man project composed/produced by Horace Rosenqvist, it also features the addition of session musicians, and now has a full 6 member live band with Zebadee Scott (Drums), Hayley Anderson (Violin), Sara Orania (Keyboard), Mortimer Bellchambers (Guitar), and Daniel Green (Bass).
Being conceived sometime in the early 2000’s, after some experimental demos and an EP “Arbor” in 2007, Aquilus released their debut album Griseus, created soley by Rosenqvist, on CD through ATMF in 2011. A 2013 vinyl release by Blood Music raised the band into public consciousness, and Griseus slowly amassed a following of devoted fans, climbing its way to being voted one of the top albums of the decade on MetalStorm.
For eight years, an epic, sophomore masterwork was in-the-making. So legendary, in fact, that fans hardly believe it existed. The opus grew so furiously, the decision was ultimately made to split the work into two albums, culminating with the release of the first album, Bellum I in 2021, and then the second album, Bellum II in 2024.
Bellum I and II showcase the band’s rare amalgam of authentic classical, European folk and black metal influences, alongside Aquilus’s unique multi-instrumentation and compositional complexity. Depending on the piece, instruments used range from an assortment of acoustic guitars to pianos, violins, mandolas, mandolins, balalaika, banjo, gusli, bow psaltery, and fipple flutes among others. Metal influences, ranging from early Metallica to the early works of Solefald, Opeth and Katatonia, combine with the classical romanticism of Rachmaninov and Chopin, to the soundtrack textures of Bernard Herrmann and Thomas Newman.
The amount of time, thought and detail gone into the works is immense. Many years of dedication have been put in to produce the best works possible. Now the world can hear ‘Bellum’ in its entirety. ‘Bellum I’ and ‘Bellum II’ being essentially one colossal album split into two releases, both written and recorded at the same time. ‘Bellum II’ is the more mellow of the two albums, but still contains its dark and heavy moments, albeit with longer expansive tracks and some different shades not seen on ‘Bellum I’. Immerse yourself in the conclusive chapter of the journey of Bellum.
credits
releases May 3, 2024
Album line-up:
Horace Rosenqvist
Session Musicians:
Percussion: Zebadee Scott
Violin: Hayley Anderson / Troy Schafer
Operatic Vocals: Annemari Välipelto
Fipple Flutes: Sara Orania
Album credits:
Percussion Engineer: Troy Mccosker at Pony Music
Piano Engineer: Aaron Dobos at Sing Sing
Mastered at Fascination Street by Jens Bogren
Handwritten Artwork by A. Alvarado and Anaïs Mulgrew
Aquilus took a decade off and came back like he never left! Bellum I is yet another piece of beautiful melodic black metal mixed with classical and folk that makes you wanna dance naked in a forest somewhere. The natural sounding production increases the atmosphere heavily. Griseus is a monumental black metal album for me but Bellum I isn't far behind. Can't wait for II! Ryan
Abstract Illusion achieve to create an imaginary landscape that magnets to our metallic soul. An extraordinary rounded album that will continue spinning for a long period. josich
Australian band Aquilus smashes genre boundaries to smithereens, combining classical orchestration with black metal on this riveting LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 13, 2021
