Like all movements that promise to reinvent a genre, dissonant / experimental Death Metal collapsed into a messy trend of imitators focussing on the most obvious aspects of their influences’ sound and missing the nuance. Fortunately, it passed the test of leaving behind enough building blocks for worthwhile successors to construct something interesting – and New York four-piece Aeviterne are one of the most interesting in a while.

Their debut album The Ailing Facade (Profound Lore) is likely to draw comparisons to Gorguts or Ad Nauseam, but the comparison that came to mind the most for me was Flourishing – whose sole full-length The Sum Of All Fossils (The Path Less Travelled) deserves a lot more attention – so it was gratifying to discover that Aeviterne contain two former members of those largely-forgotten pioneers. The dense, lower-case-i industrial atmospheres and pacing reminiscent of 90’s Napalm Death or even early Killing Joke are preserved here, but given a more cavernous, nightmarish feel suggestive of Ulcerate or Portal. If there is a clear flaw to observe, it can be seen in the number of other band names referenced so far. As powerful and engaging as The Ailing Facade is, Aeviterne haven’t quite crystalised their own sound yet – but the promise of what will happen when they will is more than worth hanging around for.

The Ailing Facade makes no concessions to easy listening, and is likely to frustrate or confuse listeners who expect a more direct or confrontational approach to death metal. Riffs are dense and layered in atmospherics. Blasts are used sparsely and frequently disappear into themselves. Slow-build sections don’t always have an obvious pay off. But for those still excited by the promise of experimental death metal to visit places far beyond the genre’s thrash roots, The Ailing Facade is welcome evidence that that mission is still underway.

Buy the album here: https://aeviterne.bandcamp.com/album/the-ailing-facade

8 / 10

RICHARD BENTON