Burialmound
Devil's Work
7.9
Very raw, very brutal death metal. Brutality which stems not from blasting drum riffs, but from edges left so rough as to almost make this more of a chore to listen to than a pleasure. Now that line will make this instantly appeal to a few readers, I am betting. Fine and good. This is a band that wants to be raw in the black metal sense, but also play real death metal in the classic Benediction or Grave sense. What it creates is something along the lines of a Chasm kind of experience, with some intriguing tunes and ridiculously heavy squelch.
This is a Chris Sessions review, so you already know I am loving the death metal, and I also enjoy a little squelch in my production. But this is overboard. I am assuming I have a mastered copy, and a trip to the band's website gives me confidence they were after this overloud mash of noise. It pushes the boundaries of listenability, but I am so intrigued with the underlying quality of this plodding style of death I think it overcomes the static. Be very clear about this point. At first listen this may come off as amateurish, badly produced demo fodder. But that's fuckbag. The songwriting is varied and compelling, but it hides itself under the sound. You have to let it happen, let it find you. Once you do you are rewarded with a massively epic recording of great compositions.
One way it achieves this variance in composition is with some black metal methods of vocalizing and passages. Although it’s squarely in the death metal category for the most part, the use of black metal stylings to emphasize the atmospherics is a real positive. The textural deviance from expectations allow you to throw in with the actual performances instead of the method of capturing them. Moreover, the differences allow for the band to create moving song structures. And although you have heard this kind of thing before, this band is both rawer and more satisfying than many of their peers. Musically adept performances cap off this painful little treat.
The bottom line is that this blending of older school death metal with arching black passages overcomes the ridiculously loud and raw production to provide the patient listener with a gut loosening musical experience, and that's never a bad thing. I would like to hear better prod next time out. I don't mind working for my metal, but this is standing on a razor's edge for me. The average metal listener will want to take a very close listen to whatever samples they can find, but I feel confident giving this monster the nod. Check it out.
