Having the misfortune of growing up Catholic comes with the added bonus of living in fear that every small mistake you make is going to result in you spending eternity in flames and torment. It’s a story you’re told to keep you in line and to strip you from the parts of yourself that are genuine, replacing that with crippling fear.
Canadian technical death crushers Atræ Bilis think of eternal damnation in more of a warped way based on scientific experimentation, and their worming second record “Aumicide” is a concept piece about a test specimen being tortured by different variations of hell to remove one’s sense of faith and operate in total godlessness. Sounds fun. The music itself is as warped as the concept as the band—vocalist Jordan Berglund, guitarist David Stepanavicius, bassist Miles Morrison, drummer Luka Govednik—delves even deeper into the strangest, sickest version of themselves yet, complete with twisted visions and corrosion that feels like it came from another galaxy.
“Protoxenesis” is a tingling, warping instrumental opener with the guitars trickling and the bass pulsating, leading to “Hell Simulation” that feels like it’s tangling you up in steel cables. The playing blindsides and torches, the vocals taking on a strange alien effect that, to be honest, grates on the nerves. It happens throughout the record, and it’s not my favorite thing, but it’s minor. The tempo jerks as the vocals get throatier, sinewy madness closing off veins. “Salted in Stygia” stabs away, growls retching as spindly intergalactic weirdness takes over, the eeriness building to monstrous dashes. Clean singing adds a different element while ugly crunches blast away. “Inward to Abraxas” feels mystical at first before the doors are blown off, punching as the battering tempo takes hold. The playing chugs as strange glitching gnaws at nerves, throaty howls ripping into digitized chaos. “To Snuff the Spirit Guides” is speedy and mean, scathing guitars leaving brush burns, the gutting madness tying in with a strange atmospheric twist. Things turn tricky and ripping, the guitars taking off and rippling through space.
The title track is an instrumental piece, the guitars agitating over a heat storm, spacious echoes blowing into “A Kingdom of Cortisol” that punishes right away as the growls crunch bones. The melodies play tricks with your brain, snaking and trudging, the pressure overwhelming and disappearing into tornadic energy. “Monolith Aflame” opens with cold guitars before the violent twists and turns land, group howls making your flesh crawl. The temperature keeps switching back and forth, vicious howls brawling with your sanity, the pace dizzying and making maintaining your balance nearly impossible. “Through the Hologram’s Cervix” brings gale force winds, beastly terror squeezing your temples, alien crackles peppering you with waves of discomfort. The guitars tangle as the growls intensify, a sci-fi burst blazing with colors, torching to an abrupt end. Closer “Excruciate Incarnate” mauls, the guitars attacking and crushing your senses. Static spits, unfurling sonic leads that twist your guts, sweat glistening on your brow. The strangling tempo is enthralling, twisting your psyche before fading into the stars.
Hell is more cosmic that I ever expected, at least from what we glean from “Aumicide,” a record that finds Atræ Bilis in twistingly brutal form. This band keeps getting stranger and less human, something that’s pretty apparent once you absorb the insanity of these 10 tracks. Whether or not damnation is real, this record will make you rethink your position and if eternal fires are instead set in a strange lab somewhere.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/atraebilis
To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/atraebilis
For more on the label, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/
Meat Mead Metal 