Concealed

Canadian heavy metal bands have a long tradition of harnessing sonic extremity to unparalleled technical prowess and a progressive sensibility (see Cryptopsy, Neuraxis, Kataklysm, Gorguts, and granddaddies Voivod, above all), but this 2005 debut by Montreal's Augury arguably breached a new standard for the form. Found here amid the familiar death metal foundation and jaw-dropping musicianship performed in blazing unison by all involved, are additional, tantalizing glimpses of black metal velocity, classical music undercurrents, detours into softer, introspective passages, operatic female voices, multiple male vocal tones ranging from the expected Cookie Monster roars to cleaner hardcore barks, and much, much more. Not a single, furious metallic thrashing goes by where Augury fails to throw an unexpected monkey wrench into the works, whether that be the discordant machine-noise finish of "Beatus," the jazzy interlude of "Nocebo," the otherworldly world music intro of "Alien Shores," the interlocking acoustic guitars of "From Eden Estranged," the space age atmospherics of "Cosmic Migration," or the Celtic folk inspirations of "The Lair of Purity" (both of the latter pushing outstanding bassist Forrest Lapointe to the fore). But, mind you, while it is common for eclectic bands such as this to lose the thread of their metallic intentions, while unnecessarily showboating their versatility, Augury intentionally restrict their daring fusions to a supplementary role, thus enhancing the dominant death metal DNA spread throughout. And yet, amazingly, the group's debut went relatively unnoticed upon release and required several years of steadily spreading word of mouth (both online and offline) to reach the critical mass leading up to the Augury's justifiably acclaimed sophomore album, 2009's Fragmentary Evidence. [Concealed was reissued in 2010 with two bonus tracks sourced from a 2006 demo, "Skyless" and "Faith Puppeteers," which were stylistically cut from the same kaleidoscopic cloth as the preceding album.] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia