Atræ Bilis are a Canadian quartet playing death metal infused with melody and mellowness to juxtapose the brutal technicality of their chosen genre. Hailing from Vancouver they have released their first EP which showcases what they are capable of.

It starts with the short instrumental “Gnode” where David Stepanavicius’s guitar riffs are rolling over each other as Luka Govednik’s drums build to blast beats with Brendan Campbell’s rumbling bass for a backdrop before it slips into “Sulphur Curtain” and Jordan Berglund’s roar join the fray. The song maintains its quick pace as the vocals go from screams to growls to low roars over the intense guitar riffs and drum battery.

Watching the “Phantom Veins Trumpet” video somehow shows how little effort they appear to be putting in to get the aural wall of sound they assault your ears with, as the blasts let the guitars go from manic riffing to near single note stumming with the vocals ranging from rapidly spat out lyrics to slow dragged out drawls interspersed with grunts and growls, all without ever seeming to fall out of time.

Feeling far more mid-tempoed as it plods along “Ectopian” manages to keep a steady backbeat going while either the guitars or drums alternate their intense attack before falling back in line to the core tempo, the haunting choral vocal as the guitars meander off on a melodic interlude is an interesting touch.

By contrast “Upon the Shoulders of Havayoth” feels like a blast session from beginning to end, littered with guttural roars and higher pitched screams as the razor sharp guitar riffs give the song enough dynamic changes to prevent 4 minutes of blasting from becoming monotonous.

They end the EP with “A Ceremony of Sectioning” where the slow melodic middle maintains the intensity of the beginning and end with the tremolo picking on the down tuned guitars happening at easily four times the pace of the drums.

The short but bloody intense 22-minute ride is over and as I have it on repeat, it just starts the ride once more. Well worth giving a quick listen, as I’m sure this is the route the more technical death metal bands are going down.

(8/10 Marco Gaminara)

https://www.facebook.com/atraebilis

https://atraebilisdeath.bandcamp.com/album/divinihility-death-metal