Be'lakor - Of Breath and Bone

I really like this band and this album, but I absolutely *love* this album's exquisite cover art. Check it out.So I don’t know if it’s been this way all along and I just haven’t noticed it, or if the youth of today are being slipped some sort of government-sponsored superdrugs, but there seems to be a spate of new bands with an impressive degree of talent and musical maturity. Bands like Cinema Sleep and Australia’s Be’lakor are putting out freshman and sophomore material you’d expect from more seasoned outfits – often with members nearly twice their age - in their respective subgenres and I couldn’t be more happy about it. Fittingly, it reminds me of the story of Athena springing fully formed (and armed) from the cleft head of Zeus, shouting a cry of war.

The Melbourne band, established in 2004, took the name of a demon from the Warhammer games (Non-nerds: To the Google!) and have been steadily impressing people in the melodic death metal community with each album getting better and better reviews. And now, they’re coming to America with their third effort, Of Breath and Bone. I have to say, this is some damn fine melodeath right here. If I had my druthers, there would be much more shredding solos – or any at all, for that matter. But, considering the great use of dynamics in establishing atmosphere, it’s a small disappointment as the album is thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to “wait, it’s not over is it?”

The Bottom Line: Ignoring how young the members of Be’lakor are to be making music of this depth, Of Breath and Bone is an impressive example of melodic death metal from down under. The only disappointment subgenre fans might experience is the absence of shredding solos, but everything else on this album is fantastic, and I can’t wait to see these guys on a stage in the near future.

Tracks Prompting You Investigate the Ingredients of Vegemite: Abeyance, Fraught, Absit Omen, and The Dream And Waking

- Genghis would tell these kids to get off his lawn, after they finish a tight 30-minute set…