augury fragmentary evidence

Released: 20 July 2009 Label: Nuclear Blast

Augury are a Canadian technical Death Metal band, with progressive tendencies, and Fragmentary Evidence is their second full length release, arriving belatedly some five years after their impressive debut Concealed.

A sludgy grinding racket opens the album, as you’d expect of a death metal band. The drums are relentless, the guitars are down tuned and bass heavy, the vocals belching and roaring; but quite soon into the opening track Aetheral the first inkling you have that these guys are something different is the unexpected inclusion of jazz-tinged bass guitar lead breaks!

For traditionalists this could be a major turn off, but for those who don’t mind their bands dabbling outside of their rigidly classification, Fragmentary Evidence contains enough diversity and brutality to warrant further exploration.

Without a lyric sheet, I was at a loss as to the subject matters covered, but the suitably esoteric metal song titles lead me to think they aren’t exactly re-examining Proust for instance.

Themes aside, the general musicianship on Fragmentary Evidence is never less than intriguing though; Simian Cattle has some great guitar / bass interplay, with agile tapped riffs grounded with brutal open chords. There’s even a feint made towards a melodic vocal line at one point.

The problem of course with being too technical, is that you lose a lot of the immediacy that a straightforward open string chug can deliver, but they aren’t totally averse to a catchy riff, as Faith Puppeteers attests. It’s probably the most immediate track on the album, with its bouncy intro and catchy slide riffs.

There are simply no fillers on this release, but Jupiter to Ignite is a standout track. It effortlessly combines introspective prog-rock phases and clean jazz phrasing with outright brutality, and at almost eight and a half minutes in length, certainly gives them time to flex their musical chops. Interestingly though, the band are more likely to indulge in technical ensemble playing rather than individuals breaking into guitar solos, and the music has all the more depth because of it.

The only awkward track here for me, is Brimstone Landscapes and by that I mean, there’s a section which totally spoils the mood, where quite out of the blue, a female vocal bursts in and for a few bars we are in a horrible soundscape that combines the sillier vocals of Cradle of Filth with the embarrassing neo-classical styling of Savatage. Thankfully the intrusion is brief, but it left me cringing!

Thankfully this epic release redeems itself with the eleven minute album closer Oversee the Rebirth which again features a plethora of different moods and styles, expertly blended.

Its good to hear so much bass guitar on an album, given equal credence with the lead here, as it’s an instrument often criminally overlooked in metal since the fateful day ...And Justice for All was released, and nobody seemed to miss hearing Jason’s bass in the mix!

Canada has more than its fair share of boundary-pushing bands that aren’t afraid to explore unconventional musical territories such as Rush, Voivod and the technically dazzling, but hard-to-get-into Martyr. Augury are a fitting addition to that roster. They may not be as accessible as less adventurous bands that rely on the catchy obviousness of linear chord progressions, but the fifty five minutes of music on offer here, will only reward repeated listens.

Fragmentary Evidence is a complex and challenging release that should garner the band a wider following. Intriguing stuff!

by Steven Hargraves