Of Feather And Bone - False Healer

A quick raid of my physical review pile brought me to this beast of an LP. Released via Hydrogen Man Records towards the end of last year, it captures the debut EP by Denver hardcore band Of Feather And Bone, for the first time on vinyl. I'd not heard of these guys until I stumbled across their music on the HMR bandcamp page. On hearing False Healer and then later reading that they were playing the A389 11th Anniversary bash, I was pretty much sold. The LP is limited to 300 copies on clear wax, with a painted reaper adorning the centre of the record on the B-side. I'm gonna shut up now and let the music do the talking.

Tracklist:-

1. Pestilence
2. Burdened
3. Borrowed Existence
4. False Healer
5. Your Truth Means Nothing
6. Hollow

Of Feather And Bone are noisy, sludgy and black. The appropriately titled Pestilence opens False Healer in chaotic fashion with a wall of noise, bass-heavy tones and rasping hardcore screams. The rhythm and instrumentation that finishes the final thirty-seconds of the song is intensity personified. Of Feather And Bone do not mince their words. No sooner has Pestilence finished, when Burdened hits you clean in the face like a breeze-block. Imagine if Primitive Man recorded a fast hardcore album. That’s pretty much how insane and heavy Of Feather And Bone are!

The blast-beats that greet you on Borrowed Existence flail like there’s no tomorrow, yet Of Feather And Bone manage to inject enough control into the music, which stops it from sounding cluttered and loose. That control is one thing that’s really impressed me on listening to these guys. Yes they’re heavy, but they’re also really skilled musicians and song-writers. It’s that control that makes them sound even more a force to be reckoned with.

On the title-track, their sludge influences come to fore a bit more with an epic slab of riffage that’s meant to be heard live. That sludge soon flows into crazed hardcore that contains groove-laden bass. It ups the tempo and the atmosphere changes with it. That bass is an overarching element of Of Feather And Bone’s music. It adds great heft to Your Truth Means Nothing, which also features subtle metallic guitar sections, a la Holy Terror. The raging, grinding final moments of the song sends you into absolute raptures.

Closing with Hollow, Of Feather And Bone are anything but. Their hard-hitting tones make it impossible to forget them, yet there’s a sincerity within their music that proves they mean every single anguished scream and hallowed transition. I didn’t do a best-of-2014 list because everyone else does them and mine probably wouldn’t have been that relevant, but False Healer would have taken top spot if I had!

You can stream False Healer via Hydrogen Man Records here:-



It's available as a name-your-price download and there's a link that takes you to Hydrogen Man's online store, where you can order the vinyl version (which you should!).

Of Feather And Bone Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/offeatherandbone
Hydrogen Man Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hydrogenmanrecords