One of uncountable spiral-formed cycles in aeviternity, an isolated third yuga, or a solid seventy minutes spent in the purgatory of liminal spaces deep in contemplation this third full-length album from Stuttgart, Germany-based psychedelic rock/post-metal quartet Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree explores the dual nature of the great unknown, fonts of life and a terrifying abysm alike, from a place of dread-filled rest. In framing the concept of eternity as unknowable without consequence the morbidity of the individual, conscious of waiting and wandering in flux for purpose, becomes the greater cinematic characterization of ‘Aion‘. Whether they’ve set us in place on a park bench or in witness of cataclysmic terraforming the tonal muse of the quartet evolves to include more focused use of their cinematic wares this time around as they sport increasingly active vocal register, deeper dives into ambiance, and even more enviable scenic depiction which steps beyond the atmospheric drainage of their past.
Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree formed as a quartet circa 2014, comprised of longtime friends who’d intended to combine heavier stoner doom metal rhythms with an indeterminate style of psychedelic and post-rock flavored guitar work as their leading point of expression. In pressing through their past discography the stoner/deadpan vocals of their debut LP (‘Medicine‘, 2017) were initially one of the only points of interest for my taste as the sleepy and distant nature of that first record bounced in one ear and out the other. The heavier, gloomier strides taken their second album (‘Grandmother‘, 2019) amounted to more than beefed-up fidelity as they’d begin taking the doom influenced riffcraft of their sound more seriously. The effect of their music was at that point almost closer to something like Year of No Light than it was Mars Red Sky, not that the implication of psychedelic rock and doom metal in their work was unimportant but that the serious tone of their work was one degree in separation from either world, threatening to sound a bit sterile and trope-ridden a la typical dark post-metal. ‘Aion‘ is by comparison ethereal yet organic in its cinematic timbre, still reliant on a very plain approach to post-music guitar techniques but not so pained that the whole of the experience amounts to slow-rising pained tension.
The ‘much ado about nothing’ inherent to post-music relies on one’s ear being captivated by slow escalation and de-escalation which might lead to points or periods of eruption and while this works for jam-based rituals and doom metal dabbling in psychedelia for answers when it is applied to the strict rules of post-rock’s crescendo under glass. Here we find entire ten to twelve minute pieces cresting upon perhaps thirty seconds payoff and this may not hold the attention of a more traditional doom or sludge metal minded listener. While I’d generally found each of the longer form pieces on ‘Aion‘ had their eruptive moment, a break in the drift which’d been exciting enough as a rhythmic spike, these moments provided diminishing returns in the same way that post-metal records might. Opener/title track “Aion” perfectly encapsulates this checked-out mindset as the post-metallic drone of its movement takes a slow climb towards a briefly exciting chunk of ~90 seconds of work which features at its peak. None of this is a complaint but a hint that patience is entirely key to what Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree have been doing these last nine years or so, none of that has changed on this 80 minute double LP.
Coming down on top of the mountain. — There is a such a rich history of writing about post-music as depictive of liminal spaces that I’d rather focus on what isn’t a cold passageway between events here and this means pushing right to “Divergence” b/w “Threatening” as the first among few breaks into what I’d consider psychedelic doom metal adjacent work on the album. As the latter song peaks into its fifth (~sixth) minute, or, its halfway point one can witness what is relatively new in Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree‘s repertoire as more active rhythms turn up, space rock worthy basslines help to fuss up a drum circle and we find some of that serious-faced post-metal affect beginning to rightfully spark up as a point of atmospheric excess. Though Side A wasn’t a wash the real bulldozer on the record is ultimately this piece alone and eh, Side B certainly has its issues beyond this main event; Ambient pieces like “Consonance” and “Courtyard” do not pair well one after another and instead feature as filler that’d ensure the total reach of the double LP format isn’t scant on any given side. The nearly seven minute gorge they set between “Threatening” and equally engaging “Excavation” soon becomes inconsequential in gesture beyond cleansing the palate with a few thumbed-at chords and field recordings.
Way, way out in the strip mines and heat death of Side C “Excavation” is inarguably the gem of the lot and the piece to lead us to the darker stomping posture and intensity of “Scouring the Land” to complete the greater movement which spans the whole of that third side. If there is a second wind on this album let it be what they’ve contained within these to pieces, even if the potency of the record begins to feel diluted in drift between states and stages thus far; While it might seem pretty damning that I’d just as well skip through a solid half hour of ‘Aion‘ that doesn’t entirely blacken the value presented within the remaining ~50 minutes elsewhere, though I’d suggest this record lands unfocused within its perceived cinema and can’t escape a bloated read as a result. That said Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree have done well to focus on the hypnotic, psych-wafted side of their register as this makes for a captivating listen if you’ve the patience to let every moment ring with equal value. I’d eventually gotten there even if such a large chunk of the experience feels as if it dryly fills space rather than adds to their striding on into infinity. A moderately high recommendation.
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