ALBUM REVIEW: Mineral Bearing Veins – From The Bogs of Aughiska
Most commonly associated with the windswept tundras of Scandinavia, black metal has expanded across the world and is now very much a global movement. The UK and Ireland have long-been spawning bands of sheer quality, especially since the turn of the century, and FROM THE BOGS OF AUGHISKA are one such band. Despite somewhat flying under the radar and only making a rippling in the underground, the Irish alchemists are back with their third effort; Mineral Bearing Veins. Will this new offering finally cast the spotlight in their direction?
Up to this point, FROM THE BOGS OF AUGHISKA had built their foundations in the underground as a result of their oppressive and suffocating listening experience. A fusion of dark ambience and conventional black metal birthed an aural tundra of harrowing emptiness on which they built their name. This time around though, the black metal side to their sound is clearly more evident and as a result, Mineral Bearing Veins is the strongest offering from FROM THE BOGS OF AUGHISKA to date.
Following the quaint and surprisingly delicate nature of album intro Scuabtuinne, FROM THE BOGS OF AUGHISKA plunge you into the abyss with the sinister Poll An Eideain. Here, muffled vocal shrieks twist and distort in perfect harmony with the frantic nature of the signature black metal riffing. Right from the off, it’s clear that the band are pushing the black metal side of their sound to the front and it works a treat; conjuring a dark and down-right punishing atmosphere. Crataegus proves to be the best example of this as frost-bitten riffing, shrieked vocals and blastbeats combine three-fold in the longest song on the record to further hammer home the volatile nature of their sound.
Whilst the black metal side to FROM THE BOGS OF AUGHISKA‘s sound is clearly more evident on Mineral Bearing Veins, the dark ambient side to their musical pallet is still present, but this time though, it lies just beneath the surface, making it all the more sinister. The pulsating sounds that dominate the opening of The Devil Is An Irish Man are instantly unsettling and its subtle inclusion later in the track only enforce the tsunami of tremolo riffs and shrieked vocals. Similarly the delicate nature of An Spealadoir, where chanting vocals intertwine with gentle melodies, create a feeling of momentary respite, a complete polar opposite to the otherwise bleak atmosphere.
And yet, there are times though whereby this dark ambience stands front and centre. The haunting atmospherics that accompany the spine-chilling tale found on The One Whitethorn Bush adds a new dimension of horror to proceedings and the dynamic snap from a wall of noise to floating atmospherics on closing track Lois Duin Bhearna only further demonstrates that FROM THE BOGS OF AUGHISKA are anything but a one dimensional band, instead, creating a sonic maelstrom which engulfs all.
Mineral Bearing Veins is an oppressively bleak listening experience. With the dark ambience complimenting FROM THE BOGS OF AUGHISKA‘s trademark black metal sound, from start to finish, you feel on the edge of your seat as it washes over you with it’s swirling sonic vortex of horror. Whilst it may prove to be somewhat of a difficult listen to the conventional metal fan, those who dive in will never resurface the same.
Rating: 8/10
Mineral Being Veins is set for release on September 28th via Apocalyptic Witchcraft.
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