Curse of the Forlorn

Geordie death metallers Live Burial return for album number three. The jump in quality evinced on ‘Curse of the Forlorn’ fashions a pleasingly neat ascension on our line graph tracking this artist’s trajectory. ‘Curse of the Forlorn’ is definitely the beginning of something truly impressive for this outfit however, elevating them from a notable also-ran of Britdeath to a leading player on the international scene. Live Burial’s brand of death metal is a seamless melding of energetic aggression with nuanced emotive intent. This album still has DIY written into its DNA, but there is an undeniable degree of regal sophistication at play behind not just the melodic offering, but also the slick delivery.

Live Burial blend elements of percussive hardcore of the Suffocation variety of death metal with traditional melodic material borrowed from a Northern European lineage, creating a frantic yet immersive experience. Everything is soaked in cold reverb, as if the album were recorded in a cathedral, yet it retains an impressive degree of coherence given the taut and restless nature of these compositions. Drums are perhaps the crispest instrument, with a tinny yet rich snare sound serving as a solid anchor within the music. The bass also cuts through well, lending some much needed body given the relatively high-end guitars. The latter of which offer a massive sound, sharp enough to allow full articulation of the complex riffscape on display here, but displaying a cavernous reverb that lends these tracks a pronounced sense of grandeur. Solos and lead melodies are delivered more with atmospheric and emotive intent in mind than anything overtly showy or technical. They elevate the music into epic narratives of aspirational death metal.

Vocals are kept distant in the mix. Delivered at the higher end of the spectrum, they lend the music melodramatic qualities, a theatrical core that again marks this out as a different variety of death metal to the dense meanderings of swampcore releases that lend on my desk each week.

Although keyboards are only deployed on the opener ‘Despair of the Lost Self’, there is a marked symphonic vibe that extends across many of the pieces in spite of the straightforward guitar/drum setup. The intensity and flow of many of the riffs, supplemented by soaring lead refrains and a pronounced melodic offering – side-lining the atonal – all make ‘Curse of the Forlorn’ come over as if it were written with a string section in mind. Many of the lead melodies and thematic material could easily be transposed to keyboards. The icily harsh guitar tone affords this album a fantastical quality, an absorbing yet oddly alienating experience replete with different stakes and moral codings to our daily mundanities.

Originally published Hate Meditations

UK death metal stalwarts Live Burial return with their 3rd album of ferocity.

Opening on a tide of gloom with eerie leads atop fiery rhythmic guitar and bass and powerful drumming, the potent grooves soon kick into life with a spectral atmosphere reeking of the crypt. The majestic and raw delivery of old school ferocity is instantly clear that what lies ahead will be daunting and of high quality. Vocals howl in abyssal fashion while the stunning mix allows the venomous guitars and clunky bass to cut through walls of blast-beats to achieve pure pulverisation with sound. The melodic elements and more doomy sections blend to concoct a most morbid atmosphere around a blistering core of scathing death metal. There is no denying Live Burial have matured since their incredible “Unending Futility” record, not losing anything, but gaining a lot in terms of composition and uniqueness. A very promising start to the debauchery.

Delving further into the cacophonous depths, the swathes of dread-inducing atmospherics and bestially aggressive playing open chasms of pure punishing death metal, the old school way, while injecting plenty of elements of their own into the sound. This record has a tendency to almost more blackened elements whilst not utilising them haphazardly. The prominence of interesting bass playing really shines through (a feature I recall really enjoying on their previous work too), while the lead guitars soar with equal glory. The percussion is busy with some killer cymbal work and the riffs are always flowing with ferocity. Vocally, the album continues to stay with a less typically death metal style, hitting some raspy incantations while keeping the edge and brutality in sight. This couples with the gorgeously open production to create a monolith of morbidity that really does stand out.

I think it is quite clear that along with the greats such as Autopsy and Bolt Thrower, there is some influence from more contemporary death metallers like perhaps Cruciamentum or Dead Congregation present too, with a focus on atmosphere that doesn’t eliminate but accentuates the savagery of the music. Live Burial pull off this in their own way which works triumphantly in achieving charnel savagery from start to end. Make no mistake, these guys are definitely one of the more fearsome current acts, especially in the UK scene and definitely deserve the accolades they have amassed. With a tendency toward longer songs (especially the closing piece at nearly 12 minutes), it would be easily to assume they fall into the pitfalls of over-indulgence or even just being more progressive, but Live Burial actually have a razor-sharp sound that is extremely high-octane, they just amass quite a lot of unusual twists in their songs which lend to the expansive nature of their sound. So do not be fooled, this is no meandering pontification but a luxurious feast of rotten and ruthless riffing.

In conclusion, Live Burial have retained their old school death metal credibility that the previous record gained huge respect for while delving further into their own niche of foreboding and unforgiving soundscapes. I personally like them both equally, but for very different things and that is good. A decade into existence and Live Burial haven’t run short of ideas or ways to grow, nor have they lost what made the cool start with. Not to mention they crushed live at UK Deathfest.

Written for www.nattskog.wordpress.com