THE RITUAL AURA - Heresiarch

THE RITUAL AURA

Album: Heresiarch

Genre: Progressive Tech Death

Release Date: November 10th, 2023

Country: Australia

Label: The Artisan Era

Band Links: BANDCAMP / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK

No idea what’s going on Down Under right now, but I’m really impressed by the musical output coming from Australia this year, not only in quantity, but also in quality, and THE RITUAL AURA is another fine example. Adorned by a mighty dragon, the Tech Death band from Perth just unleashed their 4th album, and it’s indeed a beast! “Heresiarch” consists of eight lyrical suites that work as leitmotifs over the entire record, exploring different elements, characters and perspectives of the lore, and this approach brings an interesting depth and diversity into the music, so does the long list of guests and instruments that would not necessarily be connected with the genre.

This being said, they take their time to build up a dense atmosphere with additional strings, piano, sax, and a rather doomy opening track, so the first blast beats appear after 5 minutes. From now on things get really wild as you already might have expected, and they absolutely deliver. Every now and then, the highly technical parts get a bit out of hand, but they quickly find back on track, and with some calmer classical or even avantgarde inspired interludes, they expand the overall listening experience in a wonderful way.

Written by Katha (originally for The Progspace)