Review: Bölzer - Soma

Bölzer has been getting quite a bit of attention lately. Despite having only released a demo and the Aura EP, the Swiss(/New Zealand) death metal duo took the Maryland Deathfest by storm and has been generating more and more buzz ever since. Now comes the new Soma EP.  The bad news is that it's only two songs, but the good news is that Soma picks up right where Aura left off.

"Steppes," the first track, sets the tone for the EP immediately. It starts with a few seconds of vocals before the music kicks in, and then it all comes together in a primal blur. Spoken vocals appear after the two-minute mark, and while I'm not usually a big fan of doing this, it somehow works. (The brevity of it helps, I'm sure.) As the song continues, you may begin to realize that "Steppes" could be Bölzer's best yet.

"Labyrinthian Graves" may be over twice as long as "Steppes," but it doesn't feel like twelve-minutes because at no point does it seem to drag on . Although this second track isn't as immediate as its counterpart, it draws you in and pulls you down over repeated listens. Remember how the Aura EP's "The Great Unifier" ends? Well, this one winds down with an atmospheric ending as well, only it's a bit more drawn-out. Once again, however, Bölzer leaves us wanting more.

Soma's two tracks prove that Bölzer really is a force to be reckoned with in extreme metal. I can't seem to stop listening to this EP, and, furthermore, I can't figure out whether "Steppes" is better than "Labyrinthian Graves," or if it's the other way around. In any case, Bölzer has done very well in the EP format, but can they keep this going for their full-length? At this point, I wouldn't bet against these guys.

Metallurgical Rating:  4.5 / 5.0