In a time when current death metal acts can be broken down into two common styles which both share a need for innovation and identity, Milwaukee band Ara presents its debut EP The Blessed Sleep to give the genre the shot of artistic savagery it needs. Rather than littering their compositions with flurries of notes that champion an alienating complexity over songwriting craft and still not falling victim to the tongue in cheek homage riffing that makes up the old school revival, Ara delivers five songs that bear no compromise to the current sounds that pass for extreme and instead carves an identity for itself where few debut releases dare to tread. Comprised of members of progressive instrumental band Concentric and sludge band Northless, Ara weaves layers of melody into its songs without sacrificing the brutality of each one, and balances tunefulness and discordance with ease. Dynamically versatile and still youthfully rabid, Ara successfully merges a technical approach with catchy arrangements to present a record that both initially devastates the listener and still lingers in the head long after it’s over- a technique lost among many who attempt the style currently. In a mere 21 minutes, Ara makes clear they are hungry to approach the mantle of death metal’s elite, and with The Blessed Sleep, the band is well on its way.