Ombres

Burgûli came to my attention not really for its musical quality or awesomeness but the opposite. The band is well-known for the really bad demos released during 2012-2015. "Ombres" is the first full-length Burguli creates and yes, it's awful too. This album is so bad it's not even released through Depressive Illusions Records. But let's get to the point.

The logo, the aesthetics and even the name are obvious references to Burzum. Lord Gorthaur tries also to do such with his music, but with great failure. This album is basically a compilation of the songs in the previous releases but with a more "decent" sound. I say "decent" because the final result leaves much to be desired. The guitar distortion sounds too digital all along the record, nevertheless I would say is one of the standout points. The programmed drums are not as disastrous as in the previous records -at least here, generally, they sound in time-, but still there's a lot of work to do. I'm not really sure if there is an actual bass or it's a guitar playing the bass line, whatever it is we can say that it does the work. As for the vocals... I don't really know where to start. In this occasion they sound a bit more integrated to the whole, but they're awful as usual. If I had to describe the vocals with words I'd say they sound like a starving old woman stuck for days in her bedroom, praying for food and some water. They really need to improve if Lord Gorthaur wants to create something genuine.

This album has 10 tracks and an almost unbearable 56:26 length. The opening track "Cries from the Battle" will basically let you know what it's written above, Burzum here and there. It's worth saying that "Ombres" and this previously mentioned track have some moments where the atmosphere is quite good. The album also consists in some ambient parts and tracks which I personally think they're maybe one of the best things on this weak record if you enjoy the minimalistic dungeon synth à la Burzum. That aside, most of the songs sound really terrible. We'll not talk about creativity as it's blatant where the riffs and all the inspiration comes from, but at least, if you want to make a clone or tribute band do it well. "Shadows over the Crag's Castle" is basically Burzum's "Key to the Gate" but gone wrong. This kind of things happens almost in each song. Even the song titles look clearly inspired by the Norwegian band.

I'll give this album a benevolent 10% just for the ambient parts and some atmosphere in specific sections of the songs. As for the rest, go listen something else for time is gold.