Browsing the influences section of Avicularia’s Myspace page will instantly give you a very clear (and honest) idea of their sound. They cite Immolation, Cryptopsy, Origin, Gorguts, about ten other apt bands, and even jazz/fusion. Not surprisingly, debut Born To Be Vile is death metal at its most angular, complex, abrasive, and draining. Despite this, fans of the above bands may also find it strangely accessible, particularly if you worship at the throne of the almighty Obscura (the album).
The elements of Avicularia’s sound simultaneously fight for space and work together to create the image of some deranged malfunctioning machine. The vocals are a combination of the screeched and growled. The guitars switch between brutal angularity, creeping bottom end (think the really low-end riffs of Immolation), and the occasional expansive tremolo section. Even the percussive and damn near improvised bass guitar goes the extra mile to appear off its rocker. The song structures also defy convention, with passages ranging from sheer Gorguts worship to Originian cacophony and tempos going everywhere from blinding blasts to pummeling groove. While not every moment is gold, the album’s twisted appeal resonates throughout, and at just over 40 minutes it is an easy listen for people crazy enough to consider music like this an easy listen (such as myself). The production proves that the album’s title was more than just a quick nod to Cryptopsy, showing great similarity to the organic dryness of None So Vile. While this does nothing to hurt the songs, a more refined and atmospheric approach would likely have aided the eerie nature of the music.
What truly gives these Croat’stheir ticket to the asylum, more so than the unconventional song structures and intentionally imprecise guitar, is drummer Krešimir “Debason” Lovriæ. The band’s name refers to a particular subspecies of giant spiders, astoundingly appropriate as this madman must really have eight legs, constantly bludgeoning everything in sight. He doesn’t limit himself to a traditional metal drum kit or style; shit, not even to a traditionally untraditional style (is that a polyrhythm or a poly-beat?). This cat is out there, like it’s his job to rape avant-garde jazz in the name of brutal death metal.
Born To Be Vile is the sound of factory machinery slowly going postal and murdering small children. It may fall short of matching the legendary status of their most obvious influence, but let us not forget that it took Gorguts almost a decade to get to Obscura, and any positive comparisons to that album are complements. In truth, this is an intriguing and damn fine debut, and while it will certainly only appeal to a particular niche of death metal fans, it positions Avicularia as a band to keep a very close eye on.
