Bone of Elk - A Whisper Out Of Range

Releasedate: 30-06-2023

Bone of Elk is a new band. Formed in 2019 by the JP, Eddy, and Colin, they completed their line-up in 2022 with Delphine and Lenny. Since then they’ve been working hard on the release of their first album, A Whisper Out Of Reach. Teasing us with two singles and a video clip, we can’t wait what the full album has in store for us.

Bone of Elk positions itself as metalcore. It is clear that metalcore is not the only influence this band mixes into their music. Listening to this album a few times, the main influence seems to be melodic death metal. Vocalist Delphine adds a layer of screaming growls that are pretty unique, and with the heavy guitars, Bone Of Elk has a good mainstream sound. Having followed this band since they appeared in my Instagram timeline, it’s clear this band knows how to present themselves. A Whisper Out Of Range proves that that’s not only visual though; the production of the album is done well and the songs are structured nicely. The whole package seems pretty solid to me, especially for a newcomer to the scene.

A Whisper Out Of Range

The album starts with Absent Voices, the intro to this album. An atmospheric intro, almost in the style of Ludovico Einaudi, sets the stage for the tracks that are to come. Again, well thought out and well executed.

A Whisper Out Of Range is the first real track on the album. Pounding guitar riffs, bass, and drum work together to drive the track and the emotive vocals of Delphine combine into a nice introduction to the band. Me being a bass player really like the fact that the bass is really present in the mix; it makes the already well-balanced mix even more rounded.

Stories

From the fast Whispers Out Of Range, onto something a bit slower paced. Stories Left Untold was already released previously. The intro riff for this track fades in with the drums, which makes for a really ominous sound. If you have seen the clip on Youtube (check it here) that ominous feeling is amplified ten-fold. The clip looks like a horror movie and after seeing it, I can’t hear this song without seeing those images.

My Fair of Darkness is also a track that got released previously. The emotions are high with this track, as is the energy. The track has a great moshpit vibe, with riffs that remind me of older melodic death bands. The main riff however is clean and clear, which gives the whole track almost an emo vibe.

Relentless Distress is a new track on this album and is one of the faster songs. Fast arpeggios take this track more into the death metal corner of the spectrum. There is a nice breakdown on this track, which is almost black metal with the dissonant chords and the low growls. This might be my favorite track on the album because of the brutal and heavy sound.

Run for the Sun starts with nature sounds that again give us that movie vibe Stories Left Untold did. An atmospheric intro, followed by a riff that for a second borders the progressive spectrum. It quickly turns into a melodic metal riff again, however, with still the underlying black metal influences. This is the first track where I really get the metalcore vibes halfway through the track with the breakdown (well okay, also in A Whisper Out of Range). This is also the track with the first real guitar solo, which fits the ending of an album. The breakdown in the middle and toward the end is brutal, and I would have liked that sound to repeat on more of the tracks. Maybe it gives us a glimpse into the direction Bone of Elk is going with their newer tracks.

Final thoughts.

Bone of Elk position itself as a female-fronted metalcore band. To me, however, it is more melodic death metal than anything else. It doesn’t matter though, whatever the genre, it’s still a banger of a debut album. Relentless Distress is a clear favorite for me for reasons already explained. The rest of the tracks are definitely worth a listen or two as well.