Flaming WrekageCathedral Of Bones

This release is great. Every track on Cathedral of Bones, from Sydney’s Flaming Wrekage, has a story to tell.

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Though each track is perfectly suited to float in the metalverse as standalone efforts, when packed together, Flaming Wrekage’s third studio endeavour becomes a saga of vivid imagery and godless brutality.

What’s interesting with this release is imagery seems to be paired with ideas of nature–fire, earth, water, that kind of thing–mirrored in sound by the fiery wails of electric guitars, a tsunami of vocals and the deadly rumble of double drumming and hardy basslines. Altar Of Lies, doubtless the album’s standalone track, does a lot to urge images of an unremitting existence to the surface.

Three albums in and Flaming Wrekage are still proving themselves to be a band of ceaseless vision.

There’s a lot to appreciate here, but at times, the structure can be predictable. Though executed very well, solos and runs fall exactly where and how you would expect them to. It doesn’t deter from the enjoyment of each track, however, rather, it chops up certain songs into two pieces. Your attention may wain at the onset of a solo or run to refocus only when a bridge or verse resumes. On the flipside, if you zoned in on only those dramatic moments and ignored the bulk of the song, you’d be extremely impressed, mind you. Cathedral of Bones is the ultimate in conceptual non-concept-album albums. It packs everything you may need from thrash/death metal–personal fallouts in its lyrics, critically thrilling melodies, matchless musicianship, the works. Three albums in and Flaming Wrekage are still proving themselves to be a band of ceaseless vision.

STANDOUT TRACKS: Leech, Running Blind, Altar of Lies
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