Style: old school death metal, melodic death metal, black metal, doom metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Entombed, Death, Carcass, Worm, Blood Incantation
Country: New York, United States
Release date: 17 April 2026

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Metal as a whole has long seemed to operate under an “earlier is better” mentality when it comes to crowning the finest albums and eras of each sub-genre. Heavy metal peaked with Paranoid, thrash metal peaked with Master of Puppets, and so on. Death metal, at least in the eyes of the ever-growing old school death metal, or OSDM, movement, is no exception, with its supposed golden age of ’88 to ’93 still held as the standard to which all else is compared. While I’m skeptical of the idea that death metal peaked so early in its life, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t drawn to the tones and songwriting ideas of that era, or that I didn’t understand why so many modern bands continue to chase that classic sound. At the same time, I find myself just as, if not more, compelled by modern death metal and its willingness to pull from a wider range of influences. With their sophomore output On the Promise of the Moon, Reeking Aura, a supergroup featuring members of Thaetas, Grey Skies Fallen, and Afterbirth, have positioned themselves to bridge the gap between death metal modernity and tradition, and they certainly have the resume to pull it off.

While the foundation of On the Promise of the Moon consists primarily of Entombed Left Hand Path-ian death metal—replete with the characteristic tree-felling guitar tones and a burly rhythm section—Reeking Aura’s plentiful upgrades to that core sound distinguish them from the throng of emerging OSDM bands. In addition to the heaping helping of traditional death metal riffage, Reeking Aura deliver luscious melodeath harmonies that briefly cut through the grime like cold light breaking into a sealed room (“Concrete Basin Bath,” “What Only Worms Witness”); limbonic, doomy dirges that evoke this year’s Necropalace from Worm (“A Forlorn and Frozen Vapor,” “Manure Like Magma”); and pensive bouts of ambience that offer much needed reprieve from the death metal deluge (“Gorged Beyond Grudges,” “Lunar Rumination”). Although such a diverse songwriting style could become unwieldy in the hands of lesser musicians, the band’s genre veterans seize their ambitions with ease, making On the Promise of the Moon’s quality feel like a foregone conclusion.

The vocals, certainly the most distinct element of Reeking Aura’s sound, tread territory that should be familiar to any fans of William Smith from his work with Afterbirth and Artificial Brain. Grunts and gurgles abound, each word and phrase burbling forth with utmost fervor. Still, Smith fends off any accusations of one-trick-ponydom as he unveils a healthy assortment of blackened highs and gruff mids. The rhythm section, itself a transplant from New Jersey death metallers Trog, lays down neck-snapping groove after groove, meshing into the rest of the band in a way that only comes from jamming a track until it’s been burned into your neurons. And the axemen—perhaps chainsawmen would be more accurate to the HM-2-laden tones they employ—deliver the melodic meat of each song with riffs notable not for their complexity but for their catchy hooks and extreme variety ranging from thrash-tinged moshpit churners to tremolo-picked incantations.

Blessedly, the mix of On the Promise of the Moon is more than capable of handling all that Reeking Aura can throw at it. The performances, dense and layered as they are, sound natural and raw while maintaining clarity across the frequency spectrum; the master maintains a healthy dynamic range that allows for moments like the string arrangements on “Concrete Basin Bath” and “The Cathedral’s Calculation” or the tasteful hi-hat and bass work of “Gorged Beyond Grudges” to truly shine. Even when Reeking Aura is at their filthiest and most oppressive on the back half of the album, with tracks like “Sifting for Fungal Inheritance (A Mildewey, Acrid Mulch),” the mix remains perfectly pellucid, every instrument cutting through the murk without sacrificing the album’s suffocating weight.

On the Promise of the Moon reeks with the stench of genre veterans operating at the top of their game. The riffs are catchy, sure to rattle around in your head for days and hit just as hard as the time you first heard them. The rhythm section operates with a savage, knuckle-dragging swagger, and Smith’s unique vocals bring the appropriate brutality and primordial swamp gurgle. Each track delivers sophisticated yet fun hits of death metal that look to eras past just as often as they look to their contemporary peers, and the additions of rich string arrangements, blackened atmosphere, and proggy interludes only serve to uplift the experience. Much like Horrendous with Ontological Mysterium in 2023, Reeking Aura have delivered a slab of death metal that not only matches the might of its muses but may just supersede them. Reeking Aura promised the moon, and it seems like they have delivered.

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Recommended tracks: Gorged Beyond Grudges, The Cathedral’s Calculation, Manure Like Magma
You may also like: Sallow Moth, Afterbirth, Ancient Death, Astral Tomb, Lunar Chamber, Barn, StarGazer, Artificial Brain, Tomb Mold, Horrendous
Final verdict: 9/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Profound Lore Records

Reeking Aura is:
– Terrell Grannum (guitars)
– Rick Habeeb (guitars)
– William Smith (vocals)
– Hudson Barth (drums)
– TJ Coon (bass)
With guests:
– Eston Browne (vocals)
– Jon Berg (vocals)
– Ben Karas (string arrangements)