ALBUM REVIEW: Blood And Bonemeal – Reeking Aura
New York death-doom newbies REEKING AURA’s debut record Blood And Bonemeal takes from the old school and brings it into the 21st Century in a frenzy of psychotic brutality. While this may be their first full-length outing, the six members have fair pedigree, comprising stints with the likes of ARTIFICIAL BRAIN, AFTERBIRTH and UNEARTHLY TRANCE.
Blood And Bonemeal is a concept album that is centered around “the caretaker of a desolate agricultural property and that person’s struggles with morbid psychosis”. Typically bleak stuff then that lends itself nicely to the death metal canopy. Remnant Of Obstinate Rank (Flooding Ratholes) piledrives you straight into a vicious riff and some of the most absurdly low growls that barely seem human. It’s a juggernaut that continually smashes you through wall after wall, via soaring guitar solos and one of the most disgusting vocal lines that verges on Mongolian throat singing, but with abject terror baked in. It’s a deeply impressive characteristic (which is used again later in Pyramid-Shaped Plow/The Caretaker) and caps an opening track that sets REEKING AURA on a decent track.
The title track follows slightly slower, but no less ferocious at its core, and includes the first bit of space since pressing play – a short interlude of atmosphere to allow everybody to collect their breath before jumping right back in where they left off. Then we get another squealing solo and suddenly, patterns are emerging.
As much as REEKING AURA clearly know what they’re doing, questions begin to surface as to whether this is the right approach for a concept album. While there are small pockets of atmosphere and tension, for the most part, each of these seven tracks feels formulaic and at a certain point, begin to feel tired. The likes of Seed The Size Of A Spider’s Eye, Grublust and Harvesting The Hatchet are largely interchangeable and indistinguishable.
Beyond this, there are several moments that seem far less finished than they ought to – Harvesting The Hatchet in particular gets messy at times toward the middle and the final guitar solo section. Granted, they’ve taken the deconstruction route where they start to strip away the elements or all peel off into madness, but there’s something about the way the drums are mixed into it that is just distractingly untidy.
On the other hand, A Vegetative Mush That Melts Among The Shelves Lined With Meats Of Indeterminate Origin (yes, really) shows REEKING AURA at their destructive best. As the shortest track on the record, this is an unabashed thrill ride of fast and furious, stone cold death metal. It doesn’t lull, it doesn’t try to be anything it’s not and it’s markedly one of the strongest efforts on the record as a result.
Aside from some novel moments and a hefty dose of bloodlust, Blood And Bonemeal passes by without much fanfare. This may get some heads nodding, but it never seems like they really get their claws in fully for it to be a memorable and captivating listen. In a year of such high quality and so little spare time, many may be better served spending their time elsewhere.
Rating: 5/10
Blood And Bonemeal is set for release on July 29th via Profound Lore Records.
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