A fresh band out of Vancouver, Canada, named Atræ Bilis, has recently made headlines with their second album “Aumicide,” which has crossed the Atlantic.
Formed in 2018, the band’s name is derived from the Latin term for black bile, inspired by Robert Burton’s “The Anatomy of Melancholy.” The band members bring a wealth of experience from their involvement in other music groups, which is reflected in their latest work.
The album’s themes revolve around an experimental being subjected to ongoing tests to transform it into a creature devoid of any divinity, supposedly to usher the world into a new era. The concept is as unsettling as the sound of Atræ Bilis’s music.
ATRÆ BILIS is carving out a name for itself in the realm of technical death metal, a genre already populated with numerous notable bands. Their offering is impressive, dubbed “spectacular cinema” for its depth and complexity. The album is an eclectic mix of brutal death metal’s force, technical death metal’s dissonance, doom death’s heaviness, and moments of progressive death metal. It includes atmospheric stretches and even near-melodic interludes, particularly notable in the instrumentals “Protoxenesis” and “Aumicide.” The use of effects that mimic the sound of a tearing speaker membrane, whether necessary or just a jarring addition, remains ambiguous. However, tracks like “Inward to Abraxas” are effective even without such embellishments.
The band not only excels with sharp, dissonant death metal riffs but also knows how to effectively use contrasts. The instrumental title track “Aumicide” stands out with its bright lead guitars, offering a stark contrast to the album’s darker themes, likened to a passage from darkness to darkness through a bright interlude. “Monolith Aflame” and other tracks provide pauses that prepare the listener for the music’s intense impacts. The vocals range from shouts and growls to grunts and polyphonic styles, enhancing the dynamic sound.
The album culminates with “Excruciate Incarnate,” a track that pulls together the full spectrum of the band’s capabilities—dissonance, depth, atmosphere, melody, and varied dynamics like tempo shifts and complex song structures.
In summary, “Aumicide” initially appears as mere chaotic noise, similar to countless other death metal works. But upon closer listening, it reveals itself as a sophisticated, boundary-pushing piece of death metal that also maintains coherence. It cleverly navigates the genre’s conventions, occasionally diverting but always returning to a familiar path, suggesting a promising future and leaving listeners eager for more. This album is truly exceptional and should inspire anticipation for what ATRÆ BILIS will do next.
Album is released for 20 BUCK SPIN label. It is produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Christian Donaldson of CRYPTOPSY.
Atræ Bilis, together with Atoll and Xoth, will hit the US tour to show you the cosmos starting this April – specifically April 20. Dates are:
4/20 Black Bridge Brewery Kingman, AZ
4/21 Kucklehead Hollywood Los Angeles, CA
4/22 The Blue Lagoon Santa Cruz, CA
4/23 Humdinger Brewing San Luis Obispo, CA
4/25 Twilight Cafe and Bar Portland, OR
4/26 Funhouse Seattle, WA
4/27 The Big Dipper Spokane, WA
4/28 The Shredder Boise, ID
4/29 Aces High Saloon Salt Lake City, UT
4/30 Trailside Saloon Denver, CO
5/2 Rockhouse Bar And Grill El Paso, TX
5/3 Metalhead Clubhouse Tempe, AZ
5/4 Neck Of The Woods San Francisco, CA (no Atoll)
5/5 John Henry’s Eugene, OR (no Atoll)
ATRÆ BILIS – Aumicide TRACKLIST:
1. Protoxenesis (0:00)
2. Hell Simulation (2:17)
3. Salted In Stygia (6:07)
4. Inward To Abraxas (10:12)
5. To Snuff The Spirit Guides (16:34)
6. Aumicide (20:49)
7. A Kingdom Of Cortisol (23:57)
8. Monolith Aflame (27:29)
9. Through The Hologram’s Cervix (31:37)
10. Excruciate Incarnate (34:07)
Listen to ATRÆ BILIS – Aumicide:
