Album Review: Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree - Aion
In the vast, black waters of the musical ocean, there exists a leviathan hailing from the depths of Stuttgart known as Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree. You’re probably think “wow, what a wacky name!”, but the moniker is a sinister nod to the haunting lyric "the bees made honey in the lion's skull" from the track of the same name by the U.S. doom metal behemoth, Earth. This chilling phrase serves as a cryptic allegory for the relentless cycle of life and death, mirroring the band's fascination with delving into the shadowy and cyclical underbelly of existence.
Having conjured two previous full-length albums, their latest offering, Aion, is a journey into the abyss, a soundtrack for a voyage through the darkest depths of the psyche. It's like a psychedelic metal band took a wrong turn at the crossroads and ended up at a doom metal gig. And boy, did they make the most of it! I'm not going to lie; at first, when I had to review a doom metal band, I thought, "Ah, cool, I'm going to spend 20 minutes listening to three notes.". Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I was coming off a Thrash high. However, Aion was just what this Hulk needed to calm down.
Aion is a cocktail of psychedelic doom, post-metal, and progressive rock served in a chalice of pure obsidian. The guitars drone like the lament of lost souls, with a wide range of textures and tones. They create a sense of space and atmosphere, as well as provide the driving force of the music, like the brushstrokes that paint the dark canvas of Aion. The tremolo picking is as tense as a tightrope walker over a pit of vipers. The vocals are a cosmic gumbo. They range from growls that sound like a bear with a sore throat to ethereal chants that could summon spirits from the other side. It's like the vocalist has a split personality, and both of them are really into doom metal! Meanwhile, the drums pound with the relentless fury of a blacksmith forging a cursed sword. It's as if the band decided to throw a melancholic party at the end of the world, and everyone's invited.
By far, my favourite track off the Aion is "Divergence". Its fuzzy wuzzy start is like a church bell warning you of your impending doom. The drums kick off and follow a droning lead-up to the echoing chanting. The doom riff is that sexy old-school stuff that you can't help but like, but coupled with the fuzz and vocals, it creates a modern edge. When the guitar kicks off at around 2:24, there is a blood transfusion of the psychedelic, and I instantly feel like I'm drinkin' lean, son! Jah feel?! The song is seven minutes long, and honestly, if I hadn't looked, I would've thought I was listening to two songs, as the end drops off into the nether-sphere of unusual sounds… it's like a weird sky trumpet in the background, a herald of God warning of the oncoming apocalypse.
The title Aion derives from the Greek word “ἀιών” meaning 'eternity', and listening to this album, you get a sense of the vastness of the human condition translated through the music. There is a constant ebb and flow of instrumental and lyrical interplay. It's a testament to the progression of Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree, not wanting to be pigeon-holed into either the label of just a doom or psychedelic metal band.
The production is also used to create an aura which helps to immerse the listener in the music. The production is like a black hole, sucking the listener into the album's dark and twisted world. But it's not all doom and gloom. Aion is not just a one-way ticket to despair. Amidst the darkness, there are glimmers of ethereal beauty. The melodies are haunting, the lyrics are poetic, and the overall experience is as rewarding as finding a diamond in a coal mine.
Aion is quite an achievement by Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree, like when Chernoglav managed to get £10 tickets for us to see the final tour of KISS in O2. It's a black metal-infused, doom-laden, psychedelic journey that will leave a lasting impression. It's like a treasure chest at the bottom of the ocean - challenging to reach but immensely rewarding once you do.
Aion is set to release on August 11th, so be sure to grab a copy of the album next week via their Bandcamp. Then just put on your headphones, turn off the lights, and let the darkness consume you (it's ok to use a night light, though). Just remember to come up for air once in a while!
