What makes Death Metal true? Probably in some respects an old school flare, bands such as Obituary, Autopsy and Cannibal Corpse. Delve deeper however and you find the likes of Infester, Incantation and Rottrevore, hailing these bands are a new breed of disgusting, pestilent artists. Band’s that spring to mind would be Pissgrave, Blood Incantation and now Of Feather And Bone, Hideous Death Metal dragged up through the underground Death Metal roots of old with a fresh face stapled to the decaying corpse of time.

Of Feather And Bone come from Denver in the US and as previously mentioned come armed with an arsenal of totally true Death Metal barbarity. The band originally began as a Hardcore Punk act but quickly shed those wings to flourish as Death Metal masters. My first encounter with them came with their 2016 demo which shook the internet, I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw so much hype around a simple 2 track demo, from then my ears where pricked and once I heard of the release of their second full length Bestial Hymns Of Perversion I knew I had to start tearing into their ghastly psalms.

Guitar work is essentially everything on this album, massive dense sodden riffs tumble over relentless drum beats and guttural vocals creating a sound which is devastatingly heavy but not without memorability or charm. Some highlights as far as riffs go would be on the songs Lust For Torment and Throne Of The Serpent, the later exhibiting some of the slower more crushing riffs. An almost Swedish crunch cuts into the purist mix sounding cavernous and destructive.

There really isn’t much more flare to this album, vocally the hymns are preached like sewage gushing from a hellish maw and only add to the bleak purist waste. In some respects however this lack of flare can leave the album a touch flat in places. Generally this release is undeniably savage and impressive but it lacks a certain wow factor to put it above it’s peers, whilst there is nothing offensive or wrong it has a tendency to become dull after a few listens, if I’m totally honest I was expecting a lot more from this.

If you like your Death Metal untainted, dirty, true and chaotic with tearing instrumentation chained to the underground then Of Feather And Bone are the band for you. Before long they will have you spitting the Bestial Hymns Of Perversion with a forked tongue, but the question is for how long? This album may be brutal and full of worship but is that enough to ensure its place in Death Metal’s long ever evolving history.

(6/10 George Caley)

https://www.facebook.com/offeatherandbone

https://offeatherandbone666.bandcamp.com