ALBUM REVIEW: Satanic Upheaval – Burial

BURIAL are one of Manchester’s better black metal acts, standing out significantly within an already saturated scene. Since their formation back in 2005, the band have gone on to produce some incredibly good music, culminating in 2016’s Unholy Sedition, an album that stands as the bands most impressive output to date. Their latest album, Satanic Upheaval, is not only another magnificent record from the band, but also one that sees BURIAL change up their well established formula to some extent.

Encircled by Wolves is a powerfully bleak way to start the record, with tight guitar hooks, a huge drum sound and ferocious vocals making for an intense opening effort. With a few moments being tinged with a more ethereal sound, it’s also clear from the outset that BURIAL are beginning to play around with their sound a little. Void of Decay eschews the denser, chord based approach of the previous track in favour of a speed and melody driven one, which gives a sharper and more aggressive sound – though it still has that vast, epic quality to it giving an atmospheric feel at points. Hellish Reaping Screams has a harsh, rawer sound that has more in common with their previous record, Unholy Sedition. Fierce, tremolo inflected guitars, chaotic drums and a bellicose vocal give this a much more feral side, whilst still having some impressive, punchy moments, making this particular song memorable and monstrous in equal measure.

Beneath the Filth blends the best elements of the first three songs, with a crisp production and focused musicianship helping to give this track sound gargantuan, with much more cacophonous, rabid music making this one of the heavier numbers on the album. The music, on all fronts, is much more demented, giving this a savage edge that benefits it significantly. Destruction Absolute takes the expansive and more grandiose parts that have made a few notable appearances earlier on the record and builds a track is centred more around that side of the bands sound, with massive rhythms, more prominent bass hooks and cavernous drums providing an excellent contrast with more visceral, vitriolic flourishes, giving this song a monolithic sound. Decayed By Time is a song that features intricate drums and venom-soaked vocals as its main focal points, with the guitars taking a slight backseat a certain points to the punishing percussion and varied vocal passages, which range from thick gutturals to a bitter, acidic snarl, giving this song a brilliant, immersive feel.

Barren Lands and Devour Your Soul are both start to inject a coarse, death metal sound into the mix, with meatier guitars and sludgier vocals, which really come to the fore on these tracks in particular, giving these two songs a much more extreme and robust sound, adding short, sharp shocks of caustic blackened death metal with some far more noticeable, imaginative bass lines that make them both stand out for all the right reasons. Satanic Upheaval‘s title track is by far the record’s best outing, is a fantastic union of soaring rhythmic assaults and harsh, disjointed lead guitars, which sticks in the listeners mind immediately. It’s got some of the best guitar work on the whole album, with hellish, howling vocals only serving to make this a more energetic and frenzied affair. Cursed by the Light sees BURIAL completely embrace a headier, atmospheric black metal sound, with great, hair raising guitars with a slick, glorious quality and acerbic vocals providing some amazing moments, with a mammoth drum sound giving this song a lot of depth that helps to end this album on one of its highest notes.

How does Satanic Upheaval compare to Unholy Sedition, arguably BURIAL‘s magnum opus? Well, it’s every bit as good, if not slightly more impressive than its predecessor, but for entirely different reasons. Whereas the former embraced a more traditional black metal sound and a rawer production, this album begins to see BURIAL begin to branch out and incorporate a wider range of influences, notably a sublime, atmospheric black metal side which works incredibly well, giving this album plenty of fantastic moments without detracting from its more aggressive ones. It’s another extremely impressive album that shows a distinct change in the band’s music that blends a raw black metal sound and a much more sublime one.

Rating: 8/10

Satanic Upheaval is out now via Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings. 

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