Tech Death Thursday: The Ritual Aura
It’s Tech Death Thursday: music by robots, for robots. The Ritual Aura are here in all their face-flaying glory.
But first we’ve got news from other, lesser bands:
- Gorod (wait, did I say lesser?) have released the second track from A Maze of Recycled Creeds, reminding us once again that they music way harder than most musicians music. Check out “Temple to the Art God” right here.
- The title track from Contrarian’s upcoming debut, Polemic, is streaming at NCS. The cover art, featuring what appears to be a giant space-wizard marlin locked in mortal combat with a fleet of superfluously pointy starships, is not terribly representative of the music. Expect more prog than tech.
- Lost Soul are making a mad dash for my tech death AotY with Atlantis: The New Beginning. I might be jumping the gun a bit, but if the rest of the album is as tight as “Aqueous Ammonia,” then they might just take it. Look for the full album October 30th.
- If you don’t mind a little core with your death, Eradikal Insane have a new album you’ll want to check out ASAP. Stream Mithra in full at their Bandcamp.
- Roses are red, violets are blue, tech death is purple, and djent is, uh, green. Fuck. If you’re feeling some groovy, djenty death metal, then give a listen to Grofból’s newest, Human Impermanence.
- Brutal tech death outfit Serial Butcher bring both the chugs and the shreds on their latest album, Brute Force Lobotomy. Stream it here ahead of its Friday release.
- Shattered, whom I have been waiting to write about forever, have apparently stealthily released their debut album, New Atlantis. It can apparently be purchased directly from them by contacting them on Facebook. I don’t know why they’ve opted to do this, but at least it’s out. Check out “Ignite the Dawnshard,” “Despise the Living,” and “Bipolar Disorder” for some solid Christian Münzner worship.
- Ouroboros have finally announced a release date for their newest album. Emanations is coming on October 6th. Take a listen to their now almost year-old lead single right here and get re-hyped.
I’m going to say this straight up: some of you are going to hate this. You’re going to hit play on that stream, make it about ten seconds in, and smash your speakers. The production on Laniakea is extremely clean; very triggered, very quantized, heavily noise gated. From a tonal standpoint, it’s not unlike what you’d hear from Archspire or Rings of Saturn. I know about half of you rage-puked on your screens just from reading that, but hey: this is tech death. It comes with the territory.
Of course, the flip side to this is that every note is crisp and clear amidst what might have otherwise been a mess. The guitars are clearly the focal point and driving force of each song, but they don’t bury anything else in the mix. Even the bass cuts through like a razor.
Now, for the five or six of you who are still with me, The Ritual Aura have a hell of an album for us. Laniakea hits that sweet spot between melody and shred, striking a perfect balance between the two. Nothing on the album sounds like it was done just because they could do it; even when the guitars are pouring forth a flurry of harmonized tapping licks, it’s done in such a way that those notes still feel like they mean something. The songs exude a sense of danger and discovery, and as a whole, the album feels like a grand expedition into the depths of space. The only personal complaint I would level against this album is that the vocalist doesn’t sing enough. The moments where he uses clean vocals always stand out, but they pass far too quickly. That’s just a minor nitpick, though, and it doesn’t bring down the experience at all.
Laniakea surely isn’t going to be for everyone, but I don’t imagine any tech heads would want to pass this one up. Fans of Decrepit Birth and, to a lesser extent, Fallujah should find a lot to like here. The full stream is available at either The Ritual Aura or Lacerated Enemy‘s Bandcamp pages.
Until next time,
(Image VIA)
