Augury

Montreal, Quebec's Augury were formed in 2002 and didn't wait very long to pledge their allegiance to French Canada's long tradition of producing especially complex and progressive-flavored death metal. Their 2004 debut album, Concealed, earned high marks from the specialized press for its strong and diverse songwriting, as well as the fresh approach of featuring a female co-vocalist. Unfortunately, that vocalist, Arianne Fleury, was dismissed (along with drummer Etienne Gallo) at some point before the recording of Augury's belated second album (and first for Nuclear Blast), Fragmentary Evidence, raising some concerns about what it might sound like. But remaining members Patric Loisel (vocals/guitar), Mathieu Marcotte (guitar), Dominic Lapointe (fretless bass), and new percussionist Antoine Baril quickly silenced any doubters by delivering a still highly imaginative brand of death metal brutality.