Band: The Burial
Title: Age Of Deceit
Label: Sancrosanct Records
Release Date: 2009
Review By: Scott L
Tracklisting:
- Intro
- Serpents Tongue
- Soothsayer
- Idle Hands
- A Thousand Arms
They say that big surprises often come in small packages. And while I have no idea who “they” are… one thing I do know, whoever they are, they’re right. Let me start by saying that much of my taste in music has mellowed considerably over the years. I grew up with the likes of Venom and Death. I eventually added in bands like Megadeth and Metallica, although I lost interest in Metallica when they released “…And Justice For All”. At any rate, after I got saved and trashed all, yes all, of my secular music I got into bands like Vengeance (it wasn’t Vengeance Rising until later) and Mortification that fed my faith rather than constantly bombarding my new found spirituality. But as time has come and gone, I’ve found that I tend to gravitate more to the lighter and more mellow bands and that my forays into the darker, harder side of music come far less often. Now don’t take me wrong, I still enjoy the hard stuff… just not as a steady diet. So The Burial’s 5-song EP, “Age Of Deceit”, was right up my alley. A small package with a big surprise. Kinda like an M80 with the fuse half burned.
The Burial is a 5-piece out of South Bend, Indiana that hammers out some heavy melodic death metal with a bit of a Euro metal flare. Think Immortal Souls, Arch Enemy or Kalmah. This is a generous helping of blast beat drums, fast as lightning guitars, and low coarse vocals. And speaking of vocals… as most folks that frequent the IVM site with any regularity may already know, our very own DavidM has recently signed on to front the band. So big congrats for that.
Lyrically, The Burial toes the party line. While dipping into the darker side of spiritual subjects at times, like in the song “Serpents Tongue”, they try to keep a good balance and certainly don’t avoid the gospel. Consider the song “A Thousand Arms” which captures some imagery out of the Revelation… “a thousand arms have descended from the heavens / to storm the gates of our vast kingdom / they will have no forgiveness, no mercy / I will not fall to / to these demons that plague my mortal soul / the suffering will be great / but I will stay loyal to the rightful throne / beneath the placid surface lurks a beast / baring the seven heads of revelation / ready to devour anyone who answers to its call / the trumpets blow to warn those / not told of the eve of our destruction / God help us / calls / the trumpets blow to warn those / not told of the eve of our destruction / God help us / the king’s horsemen have begun / the ride to the edge of the world / nothing will be left in the wake of their path”.
Standout track was “Soothsayer”. This song exemplifies everything I love in a metal song. Perfectly paced and balanced with a killer closing breakdown.
Overall: The Burial’s 5-song EP “Age Of Deceit” goes a long way in convincing me that the future looks bright for these guys. It gets the blood pumping and proved to be great mood music prior to playing a rough game of hockey. So if you’re looking for some new music and are into bands like Nightrage or Immortal Souls… this EP’s got your name all over it.
www.myspace.com/theburialin