House of Atreus
Orations
Iron Bonehead Productions
Released: 2/1/24
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1 – Orations/Reascension of Mastery
2 – Thy Wounded Sovereignty
3 – Under an Accursed Dynasty
4 – Morphos of Degeneration
5 – Cathedral of Ancestry
6 – Riding the Storm (Running Wild cover)
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House of Atreus are a sweeping, combat-worthy melodic death metal band hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Formed in 2010 under the moniker of Ashened, the band changed their name to House of Atreus in 2011, releasing Demo I that same year. The phenomenal Into the Brazen Bull EP followed in 2013, along with the full-lengths The Spear and the Ichor That Follows in 2015 and From the Madness of Ixion in 2018. Breaking a six year long hiatus, the band return with the Orations EP, released February 1st, 2024 through Iron Bonehead Productions.
What House of Atreus has always excelled at is the crafting of a sweeping, epic atmosphere within their heaviest moments. This is triumphant battle metal, hooves and halberds, armies smashing armies, political betrayal, the best of the worst in humanity. With the use of heavily-melodic composition, the band balances thematic narrative with hard-hitting brutality, in a manner similar to Arghoslent or Grenadier.
Orations opens with the smashing ‘Orations/Reascension of Mastery,’ which barrels into existence upon a storming chromatic opening riff which resolves into a melodic phrase. It takes no time for the band to take up their signature movements, with the song moving into a galloping epic rhythm shortly after the first verse. The melodic phrasing that drives the whole of the musical narrative is rich with technique and detail, and the militancy and fury within the lyrics are capable of whipping up a frenzy:
“Righteous be this hateful scourge/Stand amidst the fiery pulpit/Receive thy gifted crown now/Tear them the fuck apart”
The ripping melodic solo towards the end of the track is the perfect summary for such a prominent opener.
‘Thy Wounded Sovereignty’ opens with a melodic chord progression with melody dancing alongside large ringing chords. The tempo shifts and the song picks up into a hellish galloping rhythm, reaching its apex with pounding blastbeats. The intersection of melody with carnage is reminiscent of 2013’s Into the Brazen Bull. Even at high-speeds the band never loosens the melodic narrative, instead it builds up and transitions, intense rhythm passages bulldoze pathways for sweeping accent leads and solos.
‘Under an Accursed Dynasty’ opens on a slower footing with a doubled long-form riff that spans multiple measures, blanketing the raging vocals tearing through. The drums rotate between rhythmic blasting and roiling double-bass passages. This is the shortest track on Orations and follows a largely linear structure, rotating and interchanging between only a handful of riff compositions.
‘Morphos of Degeneration’ spins a ghastly tale of hunt and slaughter. Opening with slamming down-beats and anchoring its narrative with superbly balanced flourishes of melody and aggression. The final one third of the track reduces itself to a simple chord progression and palm-muted rhythm passage, spinning the lyrical narrative of murder:
“How grateful the wrathful hand/Smashing your bones with mauls/Satisfied wailing in the moonlight/The blood hate of justice served”
‘Cathedral of Ancestry’ is the last proper song on Orations. It is a largely more tempered, less intense number compared to the rest of the EP but excels at presenting itself as far more melodic than the rest of the album, to a point where it borders an almost ‘death and roll’ sound.
The final track on Orations is a Running Wild cover, ‘Riding the Storm,’ complete with its massive fifth-chord oriented main chord structure and galloping rhythm. It is a fitting cover and House of Atreus add their signature structural alterations to the cut. The clean vocals are a nice change of pace compared to the rest of Orations. A truly fitting and epic cover track.
The production on Orations is relatively neutral, with a flat bass drum tone, prominence of the double-guitar attack, and with an overall mid-range flavor to the entire thing.
After a six-year hiatus, House of Atreus picks up exactly where it left off. Delivering another solid piece of militant melodic death metal sure to please fans of the genre.
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Band: House of Atreus
-AJK
apanthropy 
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