ALBUM REVIEW: The Consumed Self – Burial In The Sky
BURIAL IN THE SKY are far from a household name when it comes to modern progressive death metal bands, but over the past few years they have been gradually building a reputation as one that quite probably should be. A quick listen of their upcoming full-length The Consumed Self is enough to back that statement up, offering a dizzying array of uber-technical, memorable extreme metal. In a genre that can quite easily reveal blemishes and is notoriously difficult to execute, their reputation is being carefully constructed by way of impressive riffs and surprisingly versatile songwriting.
Naturally, as with the release of any album, the jury will be out and comparisons will be drawn to BURIAL IN THE SKY‘s contemporaries. But in a world that possesses the likes of RIVERS OF NIHIL and INANIMATE EXISTENCE, the Philadelphia natives are more than capable of holding their own. They haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel, or push the envelope in any particular direction, but here is a group of musicians that knows their strengths and executes their music well. One might call it run of the mill tech death. On closer inspection however, it’s pretty damn good.
Opening track The Soft Violent Light is something of a red herring. It’s a soft, ambient intro that lures us forwards with clean vocals and subtle guitar. Ninety seconds later however, the album is let loose. An Orphan Unleashed piledrives into action, immediately rattling off a volley of blast beats. As any great tech death album should be however, this is heavy with a touch of refinement. After a staggeringly heavy intro, the middle section takes a turn for the atmospheric, introducing saxophone and mellow guitar work that cuts through the rapid fire drums to add real depth.
Next comes On Wings Of Providence, a longer format track that gives BURIAL IN THE SKY their first proper chance to demonstrate their versatility. Clean vocals appear once more, this time alongside ragged screams that offer genuine bite. Angst and calm work well in harmony, ultimately combining to help the track reach dizzying altitude. Following this seven-minute pummelling, the sax driven intro of Amaurosis Shroud offers momentary solace, before normality resumes and those crushing riffs return.
The stage is well and truly set now, and as we slide through the instrumental Wayfarer into Mechanisms Of Loneliness, the band continue to show their adaptability. RIVERS OF NIHIL keep coming to mind as probably their closest comparison, and in a similar manner this album seems to take on an almost conceptual feel. It isn’t just a playlist of cool tech death songs, each one feels unique in structure, carefully moulded and well thought out. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is Mountains, a two part track (Ascend and Empathy).
The band’s press release talks about their inspiration from great dystopian fantasies of the past, which goes some way towards explaining the ethereal feel of the album. It rarely stands still, twisting and turning in theme to keep us engaged and constantly wary of what might come next. Will it be a piano solo, or a rib shattering breakdown? Who knows. Caught In The Azure Cradle and Anatomy Of Us see out the album with similar aplomb, closing the book on the best part of an hour’s worth of engaging death metal.
BURIAL IN THE SKY haven’t really put a foot wrong with this record. It hurtles by, and probably most importantly of all, it has repeatability. Thanks in part to its complex nature, The Consumed Self is an album that warrants multiple listens, and will likely become more enjoyable at each time of asking. The band have played to their strengths, improving on what they know is tried and tested, and they have created an album that they can unveil to the world with pride.
Rating: 8/10
The Consumed Self is set for release on August 13th via Rising Nemesis Records.
Like BURIAL IN THE SKY on Facebook.