![News Added Apr 27, 2016 In the crowded technical death metal genre it can be hard for new bands to make an impact. It's a genre where even dazzling technicality seems to have diminishing returns. However, there is always still the opportunity for great bands to make an impact and make a fresh sounding album. […]](https://hasitleaked.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cover1-320x320.jpg "The Ritual Aura : Tæther")
In the crowded technical death metal genre it can be hard for new bands to make an impact. It's a genre where even dazzling technicality seems to have diminishing returns. However, there is always still the opportunity for great bands to make an impact and make a fresh sounding album. With the debut album Laniakea The Ritual Aura have done just that.
The Ritual Aura is a band from Australia whose new sci-fi themed album makes a case as a fresh (for its genre), highly entertaining, and addictive record. The music is high speed and relentless with note choice leaning toward the more progressive/sci-fi side rather than the “classic” metal side. A lot of what you would expect is here: slick riffs, warping time signatures, fast as humanly possible playing, and the ability to stop the music dead on a whim. But it is all done as well as ever. It sounds like a mix of The Faceless' Planetary Duality and Necrophagist's Epitaph by using an alien theme and extreme high speeds that manage to be so catchy at the same time. In fact, one of the biggest strengths here are the motivic repeated riffs and rhythms that even out nicely with the overall sporadic nature of this brand of high speed tech death. Christian Muenzner even makes an appearence! Other strengths include the absolute clarity of the instrument tones and production, unique and immense layering, and high speeds never sacrificing the album's driving melodic force. The lead guitar work here manages to take some of the signature elements of tech death shred and freshen it up with imaginative guitar harmonization and chord choice. And the bass player does it all on the NS Stick; often tapping his way through whole songs.
