‘Blood And Bonemeal’, Reeking Aura’s 2022-released debut album was a thoroughly satisfying and joyous ride for anyone who has a knack for something else than your regular Death-Metal-du-jour. While obviously a Death Metal band, they have very little to do with the “caverncore”-trend or the mid-tempo groovy kind, instead Reeking Aura crafts their music to the examples of bands like Immolation and Demigod.
Although ‘Fires In Deep Frost’ took a while to materialize, I am actually happy the band didn’t rush to jump on the band wagon of some of their overly prolific peers – most of the times that doesn’t quite result in a long lasting and musically interesting career. So, almost three years later we only get this digital three track EP to satisfy our unquenchable thirst for more. But, hopefully, this is an appetizer for things come, the year is still young…
Although the band went through some changes in personnel, letting go one of the three guitarists and replacing their bassist, musically Reeking Aura didn’t change all that much. This all is still music for the seasoned Death Metal aficionado that loves to sink his teeth in something that’s not the easiest to digest. The Immolation-flair is still very much here, but compared to ‘Blood And Bonemeal’ things start to slightly shift more into the Finnish school of Death Metal. Not only Demigod is a fair comparison, but also Demilich seems to be a band that’s highly regarded by the lads. As an additional difference we can hear that the overall production has slightly changed. It is little less heavy and with some added treble it sounds more “open” with newly created space for each instrument. Consequently there is some extra emphasis to the impressive lead work and also vocalist Will Smith’s dry rolling growls add some extra dimension to the overall experience.
If ‘Fires In Deep Frost’ is indeed an introductory EP for a new album, then we can look forward to another interesting record. Although especially the last track, ‘Manure Like Magma’ shows a different, more modern sound, this seems to suit Reeking Aura well. I am already on the lookout.
