Atræ Bilis – Apexapien (Review)

This is the debut album from Canadian death metal band Atræ Bilis.

Across 32 minutes of brutal darkness, Atræ Bilis explore various expressions of heaviness via roaring death metal.

Apexapien combines a few different extreme metal styles under death metal’s gruesome aegis; elements of the dissonant, technical, progressive, brutal, and blackened subgenres can all be heard at various points, all adding to the band’s extensive toolkit. Atræ Bilis tie everything together neatly through skilled delivery and good songwriting, making for a compelling album that’s easy to replay once it’s done.

The different components mentioned above are all deployed tastefully, and in varying ratios across the album. Drop into Apexapien at any given point and amidst the heavy aggression you might hear some abrasive dissonance, otherworldly atmosphere, rhythmic catchiness, technical wizardry, or any number of other examples of Atræ Bilis’ formidable approach to their art at work.

This is death metal that’s creative and vibrant. While still sticking to the base death metal formula that anyone into the style will recognise and instantly enjoy, Atræ Bilis’ brand of modern death metal demonstrates many good ideas and creative flourishes. Despite the brief running time there is plenty of meaty content here, and each track delivers something worthwhile in its own right.

Apexapien is a striking and accomplished slab of jagged and muscular death metal. Atræ Bilis have released a planet-smashing debut album.

Essential listening for death metal fans everywhere.