Spanish four-piece Bones of Minerva issued their debut album, Blue Mountains, earlier this year, and cast themselves in a place somewhere between heavy rock, psychedelia and more aggressive, loosely-metallic fare. One finds this position established in the opening track, “Overcoming,” which though it clocks in at under five minutes long moves from noise-inspired start-stop riffing and soaring melodies into a fervent push of growls and tonally dense nastiness. This line, between heavy rock and metal, can be finer and finer depending on how a given band wants to toy with it, and Bones of Minerva do well throughout their hook-laden, self-released first outing to vary their methods on an almost per-track basis, so that while “Overcoming” makes that shift, an upbeat rocker like “Fear is a Biscuit,” which immediately follows, does not.

Accordingly, the four-piece of vocalist Blue, guitarist Ruth, bassist Chloé and drummer Koa don’t fall into a predictable pattern one way or the other. “Defenders” is pissed off almost to a blackened degree, but centerpiece “Eery Octopus” offers more drift, and in a mere 3:47, “Plastic Crown” efficiently ties the two sides together leading into the High Fighter-esque “Aces” and progressively-tinged finale “Whales.” Each cut has something different to offer that broadens the context of the record as a whole, and as their first full-length behind a 2014 EP titled Shot, the seven-song long-player both sees Bones of Minerva find their niche in terms of aesthetic and set themselves up for development going forward within that.

I’m not entirely sure where they’re headed or what exactly the ritual is in the video for “Overcoming,” but if they’re working on their own level, all the better as far as I’m concerned. Either way, I’m happy to host the premiere of the clip, which you’ll find below, followed by more background on the band, who’ll share the stage tomorrow night, June 28, at Wurlitzer Ballroom in their hometown with UK psych revelers Vodun. More info on that show can be found at the Thee Facebooks event page here.

Please enjoy:

Bones of Minerva, “Overcoming” official video

Bones of Minerva formed in 2013 in Madrid, Spain. Their eclectic sound is rooted in the genre of alt metal.

Formed by Blue (vocals), Chloé (bass), Koa (drums) and Ruth (guitars), they seek to merge heavy riffs with hypnotic rhythms, dreamy landscapes with vocals which range between shamanic and aggressive.

“Blue Mountains” is their first self-released album, after a previous Ep “Shot” in 2014, and they have thrown themselves completely into this new release, carrying out everything from the songwriting to the design and album art themselves. With it they intend to prove themselves and take their music as far as possible, with a raw live show which leaves no one indifferent. The band also does acoustic sets, adapting their music and using violin, acoustic guitar, percussion and even acapella vocals.

They are currently promoting the album, seeking to take their music as far as possible, with everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Bones of Minerva website

Bones of Minerva on Bandcamp

Bones of Minerva on Thee Facebooks