"I just cannot handle it anymore. I steered my channel in the wrong direction, and I need to start over. Please understand that I am not quitting music. Think of this as a tactical retreat. I will be back. Just search for 'Hungry Lights.'" -Justin Bonitz
amnaeon | |
---|---|
Years
Active |
amnÆon: 2009-2011 amnaeon: 2011-2015 |
Occupation | Musician, Producer, Author, Comedian |
amnaeon (known as amnÆon or amnæon from 2009-2012) was a solo musical project started by Justin Bonitz in 2009 as a re-branding of his former band "Blind Can't Follow." In the spring of 2015, Justin deleted his YouTube channel for amnaeon, subsequently halting the project altogether, and deleted all social media accounts. After the deletion of said accounts, his music was also then removed from Bandcamp and Soundcloud.
The Mourn[]
As amnaeon, the main story of his project was titled "The Mourn" and spanned across a total of eight planned albums. Only four demos were released in the series, "Aorta Borealis IV," "The Proamates III," "Wolfpit Drive V," and "General Reem II." Justin had been working on his fifth demo which he made known would be under the title, "Mt. Krell I," when he suddenly announced he would be remastering his first one again.
Prior to these four demos, several iterations had already existed for many of the songs found on Aorta Borealis IV, The Proamates III, Wolfpit Drive V, and General Reem I. It is clear that Justin has been working with this material for quite some time.
All music released under amnaeon and his earlier projects are demos, and should be treated as nothing more than rough and early versions that will be remastered and remade for his current music venture Hungry Lights.
amnÆon - Everything Thats Exists (2010 demo)[]
"I created this demo in 2010, when I was 20 years old. I recorded and mixed everything with Cubase LE 4. I recorded my drummer with a few drum mics and an 8-track mixer. The vocals were recorded with a Sennheiser e835 dynamic mic. All of these songs have evolved into music that I am still working with on Hungry Lights" -Justin Bonitz
Tracklist:[]
- Aphotic Currents
- Everything That Exists
- The Default Illusion
- A Cunning Disguise
- Aorta Borealis
- Kar'tahn
- Undefined
- Inùtil
- The Foundation
- Recessive Nerve Complexion
- Sever The Ties
- Fothcrah
- Ataxia
- Reconditioning Vol.11.01
Members:[]
- Vocals - Justin Bonitz
- Lead guitar - Justin Bonitz
- Rhythm guitar - Justine Pumyea and Justin Bonitz
- Bass - Justin Bonitz
- Drums - Anthony Leroy and Justin Bonitz
- Mixing - Justin Bonitz
Story:[]
"This demo album was the second version of The Mourn. This version was again about a guy named, 'Kar'tahn' who had amnesia, and was going around injecting people with a death serum, and he did not know why. He just did what 'The Master' told him to do. Again, he meets a girl and they fall in love. The Master wrenches him away from her and puts him in a dark prison. In this prison, he begins to get his memories back, and realizes that he sold his soul to The Master. Kar'tahn gets angry, escapes and seeks salvation, and to get back to his lover, but fails.
He breaks into The Master's lair so that he can destroy The Mourning Star, which is the source of all life in the entire universe. After a battle with The Master, he meets The Maker, who is the man who created the star and keeps the cycle of life going. Kar'tahn kills The Maker, and as a result the universe restarts." - Justin Bonitz
Trivia:[]
- The name "amnÆon" came from combining the word "amnesia" with "aeon." The concept was that after a very long time, you forget who you are.
- If you listen to Aphotic Currents, you can hear me in the background singing the chorus of "Simulating The Effects" because I had already written half of the tracks off the second amnaeon album including: One Priest One Stone, Prite & Prill, Trice, and T.A.P.E.
- The melody for Aphotic Currents originally came from the ending of One Priest One Stone. I love the sound of it so much that I began using it as a theme song for the music.
- I wrote "Fothcrah" in my head, during a college class because I was really bored and uninterested in whatever the teacher was teaching.
- Ataxia was a gateway song. It was the first song that I ever wrote that did not really have a chorus or any repetitive verses. It just flowed out of me as is, and I left it unrefined.
amnÆon - Evolution At Its Finest Hour (2011 demo)[]
"I created this demo in 2011, when I was 20 years old. I never 'finished' this demo because I hit a rough patch in my life, got extremely depressed, and stopped listening to and making metal music. I began writing songs for this album in 2009. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the original versions. Most of these songs have evolved into music that I am still working with on Hungry Lights.
With this particular album, I had just started working with the EZdrummer MIDI drum program as well as POD Farm 2.0 digital amplifiers. This was the gateway for the Hungry Lights guitar tone." -Justin Bonitz
Tracklist:[]
- The Mourn
- Contempt
- Prite & Prill
- Trice
- One Priest One Stone
- The Underpinning Of General Reem
- T.A.P.E. (Taking A Perfect Entrance)
- Simulating The Effects
Members:[]
- Vocals/Lead/Rhythm/Bass/Drums/Mixing - Justin Bonitz
Story:[]
"This demo album was to be the sequel to 'Everything That Exists.' It was about a man named 'Prill.' He and his wife have a child, and a prophet tells them that their unborn child (Kar'tahn) needs to be killed, or it will grow up and destroy the entire universe. Kar'tahn is born, and Prill throws it off a mountain, but the child lands in a magical pond where it is encased inside of a seed-pod.
Two decades later, Prill starts getting visions of his son returning. A man called 'The Master' tells him to lead his son to the top of the mountain, and he will take it from there. Low and behold, Kar'tahn emerges from the pod. He returns to his parents and injects his mother with the water from the magic pond. She mutates into a horrible creature, and Prill has to kill her. Then, Prill has to chase his son to the top of the mountain and they have a battle. Kar'tahn is about to kill Prill, when a magical door opens and The Master comes out ensnaring Kar'tahn and letting Prill live." -Justin Bonitz
Trivia:[]
- The name "One Priest One Stone" came from a time when I was playing World of Warcraft. My ex-girlfriend was waiting for me to run her through a dungeon. I asked her to summon me, and she said, "But I am only one priest, and there is only one stone."
- The name "Prite & Prill" came from a time when I was playing World of Warcraft. My ex-girlfriend asked me where the next quest chain was. I meant to say, "Right in Brill" but it came out as "Pright in Prill."
- This demo was also when I started pulling away from my "band" and becoming a solo artist, as I realized I could just program drums and record all the rest of the instruments.
- I wrote "The Underpinning Of General Reem" in my head, during a college class because I was bored and uninterested in whatever the teacher was teaching.
- I had been messing with some of the riffs in "Contempt" since 2009, and it took me about two years before I figured out what song I wanted to put them in.
amnaeon - Aorta Borealis (2012 demo)[]
"I created this demo in 2012. This was the last time that amnaeon was a band instead of a solo-project. For some reason, a few of the files were missing, so unfortunately, you will not get to hear the 2012 version of Kar'tahn, or the intro/intermissions/outro." -Justin Bonitz
"The intro and intermissions were pretty similar to amnÆon's 'Everything That Exists' demo, and the outro was the original acoustic version of amnaeon's 'The Worst Of Evils' but recorded through a guitar amplifier." -Justin Bonitz
Tracklist:[]
- Everything That Exists
- The Default Illusion
- A Cunning Disguise
- Undefined
- Inùtil
- The Foundation
- Recessive Nerve Complexion
- Fothcrah
- Ataxia
Members:[]
- Vocals/Lead/Rhythm/Bass/Drums/Mixing - Justin Bonitz
Story:[]
"The story behind this album was very similar to the amnÆon version, except that The Master's character was finally named Fothcrah, The Maker's character went from being a humanoid to a giant, spider legged robot thing, and Kar'tahn his lover, 'Arilayah' became an 'anti-human.' I also ended up changing the intention of Kar'tahn's character. In the previous versions, he was an anti-hero. In this version, he ends up becoming one with The Mourning Star in order to save the universe, rather than to destroy it." -Justin Bonitz
Trivia:[]
- The album cover was drawn during a graphic design class I that had to take while in college. The assignment was to redesign a band's album cover based on one song from the album. I picked my own band, and just made the new album cover based on the song, "Ataxia." When I played the song for the class, nobody realized it was me singing.
- The name "anti-human" came from the track "The Swagwerks" off of my General Reem demo.
amnaeon - Aorta Borealis IV (2013 demo)[]
"I created this demo in 2013. The sound of this album was created from combining the original amnaeon sound with that of Wolfpit Drive, General Reem, Drudgework, and Mt. Krell. Originally, I had planned to release five albums under amnaeon, each keeping to the roots of its original project, but blanketed in the amnaeon/Drudgework sound. Aorta Borealis IV was to be the combination of every single album's sound, all in one album, that way, people would not think that I 'changed' my sound, as every experiment that I had planned was already introduced in this album. ." -Justin Bonitz
Tracklist:[]
- Aphotic Currents 10
- Everything That Exists
- The Default Illusion
- Meeting Arilayah
- Kar'tahn
- Undefined
- Aphotic Currents 11
- The Undergrowth
- Eair'tra, City Of Kings
- Return To The Arc
- Fothcrah
- The Maker's Tale
- The Worst Of Evils
- Aphotic Currents 12
Members:[]
- Vocals/Lead/Rhythm/Bass/Drums/Mixing - Justin Bonitz
Story:[]
"This demo is where The Mourn started to get really complex. Because I ended up scrapping the project, this demo is technically 'part three' of The Mourn. ''
For the most part, it follows the same formula as Aorta Borealis, but when I combined the sounds of all my projects into one, I also combined the stories, and I had to change a few things up. Reflaugh from Wolfpit Drive became Arilayah's brother, simply so that the sequel would have some continuity to this.
Also, the main characters went from being anti-humans to being 'proamates' which were essentially reptile-humanoid creatures. In this album, I also introduced 'the natiffs' which were raccoon people, and 'the kirth' which were fish people. The Maker and Fothcrah also live in a place called, 'The Undergrowth' which is basically the core of this giant floating space rock called, 'Everything That Exists.'
In this part, a man named 'Kar'tahn,' who suffers from amnesia, goes around doing a lot of evil shit, and gets away with it. When his master (The Maker) finds out, he punishes him. Kar'tahn escapes and tries to bring down a vengeful hand on The Maker, but when he cannot do it, he kills himself." -Justin Bonitz
Trivia:[]
- This album cover was loosely based off the album cover from amnÆon's "Everything That Exists."
- The background of the breakdown of The Default Illusion features a news report from a character-personality I created named, "Clyde Murphy."
amnaeon - The Proamates III (2013 demo)[]
"I created this demo in 2013. The sound of this album was supposed to be very similar to Aorta Borealis IV, but a bit heavier and more 'epic.'" -Justin Bonitz
Tracklist:[]
- Aphotic Currents 7
- Prite & Prill
- Contempt
- Nine Years Later
- The Temple Of Knowledge
- The Door & The Mountain
- One Priest One Stone
- Aphotic Currents 8
- Humbra
- The Underpinning Of General Reem
- The Anti-human
- Simulating The Effects
- A Father's End
- Aphotic Currents 9
Members:[]
- Vocals/Lead/Rhythm/Bass/Drums/Mixing - Justin Bonitz
Story:[]
"This demo originally was the prequel to Aorta Borealis IV, but since I scrapped this project, it is now 'part two' of The Mourn. 'The saga continues with a man named 'Prill.' He and his wife have just fled the city that Reem attacked. Their son (Kar'tahn) is kidnapped by The Maker's goon. Prill goes to the ends of the earth to get his son back, only to die in vain by the end of The Maker." -Justin Bonitz
Trivia:[]
- I wrote "Nine Years Later" in my head, during a college class because I was bored and uninterested in whatever the teacher was teaching.
- During a college class, I was bored and uninterested in whatever the teacher was teaching and as my mind wandered, the main melody for "The Anti-human" popped into my head. I played around with it in my head for about a year before I finally created the song.
- "Aphotic Currents 9" sounds the way it sounds specifically just to add insult to injury on Prill's tragic death.
amnaeon - Wolfpit Drive V (2013 demo)[]
"I created this demo in 2013. The sound of this album was supposed to be the usual 'amnaeon's' sound, but blanketed with the industrial/SFX essence of the original Wolfpit Drive, and some punk influences. '" -Justin Bonitz
Tracklist:[]
- Aphotic Currents 13
- Reflaugh
- The After'ahk
- Lake Dolmite
- The Roof
- King Bladth'heirtra
- Aphotic Currents 14
- Mort'mydrea
- The Spawn
- Artorn, The Fisherman
- Krayle of Narthois
- Breach
- Arrow
- Aphotic Currents 15
Members:[]
- Vocals/Lead/Rhythm/Bass/Drums/Mixing - Justin Bonitz
Story:[]
"This demo was the sequel to Aorta Borealis IV. Because I ended up scrapping the project, this is now the fourth and final part of The Mourn. ''It starts off where the song, 'Return To The Arc' leaves off. Reflaugh leaves Arilayah and Kar'tahn to warn the proamate city of 'Ik'theves' about a war that is coming from the kirth. He crashes his ship into a cave where there is a giant, mysterious crystal. From there, the story follows the same line as the original "Emulsion" demo.
The differences between this and the original are that Reflaugh falls through some ice, and is rescued by the roof. He meets King Bladth'heirtra, and does not have the heart to kill him, so instead he gives them a message about The After'ahk.
Bladth'heirtra helps him get his ship free and Reflaugh steals a giant crystal. Little does he know, that crystal has The Maker's daughter inside it. Reflaugh flies to seek shelter, and accidentally brings the war with him, only to escape with The Maker's daughter to teach The Maker a lesson, and then the story ends on a wicked sick cliffhanger." -Justin Bonitz
Trivia:[]
- I wrote "The After'ahk" while I was pooping.
- I intentionally made a really long guitar solo in Arrow to piss off people who did not like guitar solos.
- In the summer of 2015, I was transferring files to my mom's external hard-drive, and the power went out. I lost the project files for Aphotic Currents 13, Lake Dolmite, Mort'mydrea, and The Spawn. When Hungry Lights remakes those songs, they will be from scratch.
amnaeon - General Reem II (2014 demo)[]
"I created this demo in 2014. The sound of this album was supposed to be the usual 'amnaeon' sound, but blanketed with the rap essence of the original General Reem, and some electronic influence from Drudgework." -Justin Bonitz
Tracklist:[]
- Aphotic Currents 4
- Manifestival
- For Miles Down
- Haslna
- Umber Tower
- The Slagwerks
- General Reem
- Aphotic Currents 5
- The Arc
- Fearless
- The Fall Of Eair'tra
- Reclipse
- Courage
- Aphotic Currents 6
Members:[]
- Vocals/Lead/Rhythm/Bass/Drums/Mixing - Justin Bonitz
Story:[]
"Once General Reem became a part of The Mourn, I had to create a whole new story for it. This demo became the prequel to 'The Proamates III.' I had a lot of plans for this project that I never ended up pursuing, so this demo is now 'part one' of The Mourn. ''
The saga begins with a kid named, 'Reem' who witness his father being murdered, which plants a seed of hatred in his heart. He gains a great power, abuses it by starting a vengeful war, and kills himself instead of taking his punishment at the hand of The Maker." -Justin Bonitz
Trivia:[]
- The Fall Of Eair'tra was originally supposed to be on Mt. Krell, but was moved over because I did not want to change them, and I felt that the song represented the chaos of Reem's war.
- In every case where my music has a story involved, the music comes first. The story was always inspired by whatever random lyrics flowed out of me while listening to the instrumental. Once the continuity was formed, I would go back and refine the lyrics to fit the story.
- I never changed my guitar or bass strings while recording Aorta Borealis IV - The Proamates III - Wolfpit Drive V - General Reem II. If you listen carefully, you can hear the quality start to get muddier each album, especially in the acoustic guitar.
amnaeon - Mt. Krell I (Unreleased demo)[]
This album was never released, but would have originally been the fifth amnaeon album in The Mourn.
Discography[]
Year | Name |
---|---|
2010 | Everything That Exists |
2011 | Evolution At Its Finest Hour |
2012 | Aorta Borealis |
2013 | Aorta Borealis IV |
2013 | The Proamates III |
2013 | Wolfpit Drive V |
2014 | General Reem II |
unreleased | Mt. Krell I |