Atræ Bilis - Aumicide - review
Atræ Bilis - Aumicide - review
Tracklist
01. Protoxenesis02. Hell Simulation
03. Salted In Stygia
04. Inward To Abraxas
05. To Snuff The Spirit Guides
06. Aumicide
07. Kingdom Of Cortisol
08. A Monolith Aflame
09. Through The Hologram's Cervix
10. Excruciate Incarnate
A review by
AndyMetalFreak May 02, 2024
Joining Canada's ever-growing list of quality technical death metal acts is Atræ Bilis, who formed back in 2018. Three years following their establishment, this technically talented foursome released their full-length debut Apexapien, an album that received quite a positive reception in the world of technical death metal. Now let's fast-forward 3 years to the band's sophomore effort Aumicide, featuring original members Jordan Berglund (vocals), Luka Govednik (drums), and David "Dave" Stepanavicius (guitars), with the only change in line-up being Miles V. Morrison (bass), who replaced Brendan Campbell back in 2022.
Well, with cover art as equally disturbing as this one here, one might expect an uneasy listening experience, with extremely ferocious and technical songwriting, and themes along the lines of cosmic horror, maybe? If that's what you're expecting, then you're partially right. Now, there's more to Canadian technical death than just ripping guitars, blistering bass, insanely rapid drumming, monstrous growling, and simply being able to play all those elements at a lightning breakneck speed (unless we're talking about Archspire). For instance, there are those with a more obscure avant-garde touch like Gorguts, then there's those who opt for a more melodic approach like Quo Vadis, or the slamming brutality of Cryptopsy. This scene has a lot to offer, but where does Atræ Bilis's Aumicide fit in?
Well, the album actually features all of these elements, reaching every end of the spectrum, and to no surprise you're met by an exceptionally high level of technical musicianship. Opening track "Protoxenesis" acts as a ferocious introduction, featuring guitar work that ranges from chugging djent to semi-melodic riffs, as well as featuring explosive shredding leads, and a relentlessly rapid and complex rhythm section, plus brutal gnarly death growls. This song then effortlessly flows into "Hell Simulation" and subsequently "Salted In Stygia"; it's as if these three tracks are set as one, and another instance of this effortless kind of flow is the transition from the instrumental synth/lead guitar-based interlude "Aumicide" into "Kingdom Of Cortisol". The final two songs, "The Hologram's Cervix" and "Excruciate Incarnate", are of a similar scenario, where one flows seamlessly into the other, finishing the album with the same level of extreme technicality and brutality with which it all began.
There are several songs that for me stand out, the first being "Salted In Stygia"; here's an instance where all the elements previously mentioned gel together on a single track. The instrumentation varies from extreme technicality, to slamming brutality, whilst maintaining a reasonably high level of groove, and there's the occasional background cosmic-style synth work which only adds more dynamics to an already dense multilayered structure. Another highlight is "Inward To Abraxas"which is among the most melodic and memorable tracks here, and is also most varied structurally, taking a more progressive route with its sudden abrupt tempo changes.
All in all, Aumicide is undoubtedly an impressive sophomore effort. Whilst Atræ Bilis don't quite deliver a Cryptopsy level of brutality, or match the high melodic levels Quo Vadis, or even perhaps the pure technicality of Beyond Creation, they do a grand job at merging elements from each of these acts together. There are so many top-level musicians out there in the technical death metal scene right now, and Atræ Bilis have proven here that they can certainly be up there amongst the best in the business.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written on 02.05.2024 by
Written on 02.05.2024 by
An honest review that you don't necessarily have to agree with. Comments
Comments:
8
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Posts: 3532
Great review Andy! Glad to see you throwing some love at the Canadian Tech-Death scene. I might be a little biased, but IMO our scene helped in many ways to the evolution of this genre worldwide. Anyways, this one was already on my list, gotta spin it soon for sure!
---- - Headbanging with mostly clogged arteries to that stuff - Guib's List Of Essential Albums - Also Thrash Paradise Thrash Here
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Posts: 6670 Written by Guib on 02.05.2024 at 22:51 Thanks man  I agree, the Canadian tech death scene definitely has played a major part in how death metal has developed and evolved over the years.
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Posts: 170
I loved this thing. Sounds like a technical spacey Immolation. But the last few Immolation albums. I seem to be the only one hearing this haha
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Posts: 7913
Great review, Andy. Speaking of tech death metal or extreme metal, lately I've seen the roster on 20 Buck Spin. It is getting my favorites to check out any extreme metal releases over there - amazing packages. I'll check this one out as it fits to my skin and mood. Good points covered, nonetheless
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Posts: 6670 Written by Cynic Metalhead on 05.05.2024 at 12:21 Thanks If you're into Canadian tech death then I highly recommend this.
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Posts: 64460
I did not knew you like such genre? Only bands in a genrlikw actually are Canadian band, since Quo Vadis is only one. Has that old school song writing there.
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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Posts: 6670 Written by Bad English on 10.06.2024 at 10:55 Tech death is generally a hit and miss genre for me but the Canadian scene does contain some of the strongest there is. I find band's like this not too overly complex, and brutal for sake of being brutal, they have a degree of melody and groove to them, and some quite genius songwriting arrangements that aren't too difficult to get into. I admit though Quo Vadis were one of the best in the business for combining technicality with melody, despite being one of the less brutal amongst them.
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Posts: 8256 Written by AndyMetalFreak on 10.06.2024 at 11:09 Same here. Tech death bores the shit out of me, but this band does not overdo it, and they have the riffs. Good review, Andy, and, as you say, "Inward To Abraxas" is the best track on here, followed by "Salted In Stygia". Superbly disturbing artwork, too.
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