Burning Skies
Greed.Filth.Abuse.Corruption
8.3
Burning Skies do the death metal/hardcore/thrash thing better than most I’ve heard lately, and have released a cracker of an album in Greed.Filth.Abuse.Corruption. For those unfamiliar with this UK band and thinking they might be just another ‘deathcore’ outfit, think again. Far from being a bunch of upstarts clumsily throwing together second-rate death metal riffs and basic mosh parts, Burning Skies have developed a ferocious, modern death/thrash attack with a subtle hardcore influence in a similar way to The Black Dahlia Murder. Greed.Filth.Abuse.Corruption is tight, brutal and intense from beginning to end and should be extreme enough for a good lot of you.
From the moment album opener “Warhate” unleashes its violent torrent of death guitars and thrash drumming, the power and precision of Burning Skies is brought into sharp focus. Significant here are the ‘breakdowns’ which aren’t the simplistic chug-chug type but instead groovy, down-tuned passages that sound natural and absolutely crushing. It’s great to hear a band pushing the limits of extremity to such a degree and not forgetting to write songs. Tracks such as “Abuse To Confuse” and “Spat Out And Stamped On” best exemplify this, with technicality and excessive speed taking a back seat to catchy riffs that reek of old-fashioned, thrash-inspired goodness.
The vocals deserve mention. Once again The Black Dahlia Murder are a good comparison, with the throaty bellow of Merv Hembrough going head-to-head with the banshee screams of guitarist Liam Phelan and the occasional pig squeal ala Despised Icon. Sure, we’ve heard this kind of growled/screamed vocal interplay before but Burning Skies really do push it to extremes. Just listen to the opening bars of “Rounding Up The Cattle” and you’ll know what I mean. The gang vocals on the awfully-titled “Emocalypse” are fairly cheesy but fun, and at least show that Burning Skies have a sense of humor.
So is there much wrong with Greed.Filth.Abuse.Corruption? Not really. There are moments here and there when the band repeat themselves a bit, but considering the unwavering energy levels and the album’s concise twenty-eight-minute duration, that’s a minor issue. Burning Skies won’t be to all tastes and may well be a little too intense for some. If you can appreciate the band’s very modern hybrid of death, thrash and hardcore, you may find Greed.Filth.Abuse.Corruption one of the best recent offerings in this style. These guys are well worth your time and it’s great to see them, along with the likes of Architects and Beecher, flying the flag for the UK.
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