- Aug 31, 2023
- 4 min read

Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree (Aion)

Released: 2023

Genre: Doom, Post-metal

Sounds Like: Tool, Rezn, Kylesa

Homeland: Germany

What makes Aion elite and sit atop OHMs Peak?

Since their 2017 release Medicine, we have been following the maturation of this dynamic German band. Aion paints their most elaborate and euphoric landscape to date
The self-titled opener hits all marks right off the bat in case you are curious to get to know the band. 12 minutes that shows immediately the band’s tremendous range…. but wait if you are patient the album soars even higher
79 minutes of richly layered heavy post-psychedelic wonder. The quiet reflective moments make for some of the most dramatic contrasts to hit our ears this decade
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the album is that Aion is able to hit breathtaking levels in the last three of eight tracks. "Excavation" kicks off the expansive three closing tracks that comprise 40 minutes of dark realms and ingenuity
Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree are a must for fans of post-rock progressive/doom that enjoy an album that breathes intricate precision and delivers a one of a kind psychedelic experience

Track Listing:

1. Aion 12:00

2. Divergence 7:00

3. Threatening 12:05

4. Consonance 2:34

5. Courtyard 4:11

6. Excavation 8:05

7. Scouring the Land 11:59

8. Grey Wels 21:26

Q&A with Bees Made Honey in the Vein Trees' Drummer & Vocalist, Marc Dreher

OHMs Peak: We have been following your career since 2017 and are fans of all four releases. We must say Aion is masterful and hits new heights. Would love to hear any different approaches you may have taken in the making of this album.

BMHITVT: After the release of Grandmother, we started the songwriting process for Aion. Our goal was to bring more catchy melodies and structure back into the songs. Grandmother was mainly characterized by sound aesthetics and noise. The songs were mostly completely linear, so there were no repeating verses or anything. Of course you can find that in Aion too, but I think we managed to bring a bit more song structure into the songs without losing the experimental and aesthetic factor.

Also we used more field recordings and have explicit ambient parts on the album. "Consoncance“ and "Courtyard“ are two such examples. They form a calm pole in the middle of the album, comparable to the eye of a hurricane.

OHMs Peak: The album art reflects the music very well. Can you tell us a bit about the unique album cover creation and the story behind the art?

BMHITVT: Chris - our bass player - is a photographer and graphic designer. Therefore it was clear from the beginning that he is responsible for the design. The process of creation is very unusual. Chris filled an aquarium at home with water and added soil. In the process, a leaf was also added by chance. He let the whole thing stand for 4-5 months and decompose a bit. After this time, he took his first photos with a view camera on sheetfilm and one of them was also the current album cover. Chris also developed the photo in his own photo lab.

OHMs Peak: Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree is such a unique name. How did your band name originate?

BMHITVT: The name goes back to a painting Simon made for our rehearsal space. When we were looking at the painting, we thought of the words “bee”, “honey(comb)”, “vein” and “tree”. As a joke, Simon put them into the phrase from Earth’s record The Bees Made Honey in the Lion Skull, and it stuck. Actually, Simon was the only one who knew about this record, so it was at first a decision for the cool sounding oft he band name as a tribute to Earth or something. We considered changing our name, even when we were in the studio recording Medicine, but finally decided to keep our name.

I think the name has worked out great for us, and since most people in our genre know Earth, it’s easy for them to remember such a long name. And of course, we all like Lion’s Skull.

OHMs Peak: Looking back at last year’s Harvestmen release. It was so great to hear a live album from the band. Will you be exploring more impromptu live releases?

BMHITVT: Since we always play live with a digital mixer for our in-ear monitoring, it is very easy for us to produce live recordings. The recordings on Harvestmen (live) are all from live concerts we played in 2019. Interestingly, "Threatening" - which has now also made it onto Aion - can also be heard on Harvestmen in its former stage.

Fun fact: We chose the name Harvestmen because that's the name of a location in Vienna where two songs from the album were recorded.

To answer your question, let's see if we will make another live album in the future. To be honest, we haven't really thought about it yet.

OHMs Peak: Any chance you may be touring in the US this year or next?

BMHITVT: Well, of course it's not that easy for European bands to tour in the U.S. But now that we are on Magnetic Eye Records (located in Los Angeles), the chances have definitely increased. For us it's a dream that we definitely want to fulfill in the near future. So if there are any tour managers reading this, hit us up! :-)

OHMs Peak: BMHITVT is stranded on an island with only a solar powered record player. The entire band must agree to only 1 album to have during your stay... what album is it?

BMHITVT: Difficult, because we all have quite broad musical tastes. But it would be Loveless by My Bloody Valentine.