ALBUM REVIEW: Black Flame – Bury Tomorrow

It’s hard not to feel that BURY TOMORROW haven’t got the rub of the green at times. A stand out band in every respect, they’ve had to watch the likes of ARCHITECTS and PARKWAY DRIVE scale the heights of glory whilst their own trajectory has, although continually risen, not quite reached the same level, which is an injustice given their superb output and immense live shows. Whether that climb continues will be down to Black Flame, their fifth studio album that comes out on Friday via Music for Nations.

The band have said that Black Flame is a huge step up for them in every way, and it doesn’t take long, about ten seconds into opening track No Less Violent, to realise that not only have BURY TOMORROW stepped up, they’ve come of age. This is by far and away the best album they’ve done since at least 2012’s The Union of Crowns, perhaps even their entire career.

It flies out of the traps with the force of a rocket launcher and does everything it can to metaphorically rip your face off in the process. The title track is outstanding, with a chorus made for arena sing-a-longs and a sinister, dark outro not featured on the single version currently available to stream. Second single Knife of Gold is an all-out blast of anger, Stormbringer is a mosh anthem that evokes shades of Suicide Season-era BRING ME THE HORIZON and My Revenge has a serious modern thrash feel in the guitars, a wonderful touch from the work of Jason Cameron and Kristan Dawson.

Perhaps the biggest factor in Black Flame’s sonic masterclass however is the breakdowns, which have been enhanced by the excellent production to hit home with such savagery that any attempt to resist a reaction akin to throwing a bus over will be futile. The first taste is in Adrenaline, which is big enough following the chug-fest that comes before it, but the jewel is in Overcast, announced by Daniel Winter-Bates with a battle cry of “this is murder!” and leaving a BURY TOMORROW-shaped crater nicely in between your ears somewhere, especially as the slower tempo of the song adds an extra level of crush to the entire thing. As if the cake wasn’t complete enough, the emotive and powerful lyrics in The Age will speak to many a fan and music lover alike, which adds a lovely cherry to the top of the record and dusts it with a generous dose of icing sugar.

It’s safe to say that BURY TOMORROW have surpassed themselves with Black Flame, and that their stock will go through the roof once it’s out in the open for the world to hear. This is an absolutely superb album from one of the best bands to come out of the UK in recent years; long may their career continue.

Rating: 9/10

Black Flame is set for release on July 13th via Music For Nations.

Like BURY TOMORROW on Facebook.