Philly death/doom outfit Bone Weapon have returned with their latest effort and it’s a big one. Entitled Chaos Marked by Death of Sun, the debut full-length comes almost exactly three years after Bone Weapon’s first EP, Thrive or Starve. Taking the established musical sound from the first release, Bone Weapon took thing a strep further this time, digging deep into new concepts.
“From the start, this project dug into the Paleolithic Era—the sticks and stones age, the blood and bones age—using visions of war and survival to channel power beyond ego and peacocking,” explains bandleader FMG. “It’s both a response to and a deliberate steer clear of the hardcore-infused ‘caveman death metal’ thing. My influences come from death metal’s origins, especially early Finnish bands like Abhorrence and Rippikoulu and US death/doom such as Cianide and Derkéta, with contemporaries like Vastum, Coffins and Undergang fueling the deeper dive for that inspiration over the last eight years. Isaac’s [Ryan] guitar fit the vision, and Will’s [Hersh] bass, forged through years of collaboration with Isaac, became the band’s backbone. At its core, Bone Weapon romanticizes a stripped-down existence built on ‘thrive or starve’ and ‘kill or be killed.’ Though I realize where the seeds were sown, it’s a world before modern industry, politics, corruption and greed. And while it’s exciting to embrace the idea of fighting for your life and others, hunting beasts, exercising the utmost strength that you can conjure, and protecting the lives of a tribe—especially now, with all that’s happening in the world—I needed more than that in this record. Chopping and splicing primitive vocal phrasings and developing my own language for certain parts, suggested by my friend Beck, finally brought the project to life.
“Chaos Marked By Death of Sun is a mythic tale of war, black blood magick, gods of death and ritual smoke ceremonies, where warriors battle mammoth hordes and dark blood spirits to free their ancestors’ souls. It’s the first of many tales to tell within this world that I’m building. The lexicon really lends itself to the primal execution I wanted to maintain in my vocals, and I finally have something to sink my teeth into—a well of ideas that can continue to drive this band forward. I’m excited to see where I can take it. I’ve already started plotting for the next record. As for the music, I feel like the evolution of the band is palpable and was captured well thanks to Dan Angel and Armen of Red Mausoleum in this release, but the production far exceeded our expectations thanks to John Forrestal (mixed) and Yave Rust (mastered).”
Those themes and ideas add an additional level of heft to Chaos Marked By Death of Sun but any death/doom fan will find plenty to sink their teeth into. Check it out below and keep on scrolling to get an even more detailed breakdown from FMG. Chao Marked by Death of Sun is out on January 23; CDs are available via the band (US) and Morbid Chapel (EU), tapes via Transylvanian Recordings.
This record breaks down into 4 parts of a ritual in order for the Katu tribespeople to survive from the Matu horde of Mammoths.
- 1 – Intro track reads the lore at hyper speed.
- 2 – Humans wage constant war against mammoths posessed by evil blood magick, culminating in the slaying of the bull mammoth to begin the ritual.
- 3 – The warrior bathes in and drinks the blood, reciting an incantation that plunges him into a hallucinogenic state, heightening all senses.
- 4 – A shaman expels the dark spirit, born of the Sun god of death, from the blood hybrid made of evil and fallen warrior souls.
- 5 – Blood-sucking worms are eaten to gain strength, allowing the warrior to rip the tusk from the skull; the tusk is prepared as a pipe and the same worms are smoked at the dawn of the new blood sun; upon exhalation, ancestral spirits are freed and the Matu are kept at bay for another cycle—300 suns.
