When most people think of black metal, they think of Scandinavian bands with unreadable logos. They’re also likely to think of harsh sounding albums with particularly trebly production values and material topped with hissed and retching vocals, often with absolutely brutal lyrical content. Manchester’s Burial certainly tick some of those boxes, but their third release ‘Rejoice In Sin’ is, thankfully, blessed with a bigger, more professional sound than many of their Scandinavian forefathers and key influences. This, at least, makes for an album that’s far more listenable on a technical level.

That’s not to say the bulk of the material is more commercial, or is any easier on the ear for those not well versed in the extreme metal subgenre. Burial certainly play very much to tradition – as you would certainly expect from a band who’ve chosen a track called ‘Black Metal C***’ as their lead single. They were never going to break into the mainstream, so in many ways, this actually provides a near perfect window into their world of brutality. The intense two and a half minute assault finds the band attacking thrash metal riffs at great speed, offset by a second guitar throwing out atonal slabs of noise, bringing a classic black metal edge. This creates an immediate attention grabber, but rhythmically and vocally, the track is even more impressive. Drums showcase a similar no nonsense approach driving everything forth with a pneumatic precision, whilst Derek Carley tears the living hell out of his throat. Opting only to slow down when pulling into a premature climax, this track provides a great insight into a really tight extreme metal sound for the first time listener, whilst giving extant fans something to truly get their teeth into.

…And the rest of the album shares a similar intensity. One of the standout tracks, ‘Wretched Is This Life’ kicks off with a sheet of shrill sounding guitar work, before dropping into some blisteringly fast, very technical thrash with black metal undertones. The way Richard Barraclough shifts between tones even when the tempo remains rigid gives the melody a feeling of movement, and once you tune in, his guitar work also shares a vague gothic tone to offset the relentless pneumatics. For those able to make it through the first couple of minutes, there’s a brilliant melodic interlude where the trio briefly explore more of a trad metal riff. Although this is brief, it’s actually vital in giving the track a bigger scope, especially since the core of the workout feels very traditional. Naturally, it’s hard to pick out the finer points of the lyric, but Derek sounds very committed when growling the title repeatedly and throwing in references to Satan, bolstering an old school black metal aesthetic. If the vocals don’t appeal, it’s worth bending your ears past their sheer force, since the bass work throughout this number is absolutely fantastic. There’s barely a moment here where Derek doesn’t wring the neck of his instrument; the way he counters the rhythm with a really busy progressive death delivery gives Burial a real edge, as well as a relative warmth that so much classic black metal lacks.

‘The Wolfskin’ leans a little further towards a thrash/black metal blend in places, but doesn’t skimp on the anger, despite being slightly more accessible. With a slight concession to a little more of a rhythmic elasticity, listeners get a better insight into Richard’s guitar tones, especially once he launches into an ascending riff that taps into a classic extreme metal tone. The drums are approached in a way that masks the bass a little more than before, but if you love pure pneumatics, it’s still a brutalist treat, and the same can be said for ‘Bastards of Christ’, a classic slab of extreme metal that showcases a real tightness between the drums and guitar, while Derek spits an anti-religious lyric with venom. Although the pure black metal traits here are impressive, there’s actually more enjoyment to be found on the rare occasion where things slow down to introduce a more melodic bass and guitar on the chorus. As with ‘Wretched’, the listener should be able to pick out some superb bass work, although this is quickly outshone when Richard tempers some of the brutality with a few bars of semi-atmospheric blackgaze guitar work. There’s a feeling of Burial attempting to stretch out here, though never in a way that loses touch with their origins.

For those looking for something even more extreme, the title cut pushes forth with a world of extreme pneumatics and a guitar tone that lays a sheet of coldness against a guttural voice, and ‘Putrid Grave’ adds an almost D-beat/Discharge-like crust punk edge to its fastest riffs, before taking a u-turn into a world of slow, doomy metal. The vocals and guitar parts remain beholden to a classic black metal sound once more, so even with an extra dose of brutality in the punkier moments, there’s no need for traditionalists to be upset.

Although ‘Rejoice In Sin’ is never less than unapologetically intense, for the more discerning ear, there are a couple of welcome detours here. Despite its trad black metal title, ‘Sadism For God’ shows off far more of a relative melody when applying something that sounds like an old thrash riff to a classic metal groove. The end result is perhaps more early Kreator than old school Burzum, but it gives a better insight into how tight these musicians can be, and the guitar work on the chorus reintroduces just enough of a black metal tone to make the number fit the album as a whole. Then, just in case people feel short changed by an obvious melodic shift, the track reverts to type for an insanely fast middle section driven by pure black metal intents. ‘A Fear More Grave’, meanwhile, opens with a great riff and drum part that sounds like a supercharged version of ‘Thundercrack’ by Samson, before branching out into a world of death metal vocals coupled with black metal guitar work. Just as you think you have everything sussed, the band throw in a musical twist, and Barraclough is very much in the driving seat when it comes to a hard edged melody here. His aggressive fills that counter a brutal vocal show off some impressive hardcore chops once he abandons the more obvious black metal tones, and whether hammering his frets at full pelt or approaching extreme thrash riffs, his playing is particularly on point. It’s never easy listening, but in terms of exploring all of Burial’s different musical skills, these four minutes are pretty much a perfect showcase.

This third album from Manchester black metal crew (not to be confused with the Bolton based Burial, or the two dozen European death metal bands of the same name) isn’t always interested in taking the already marginal genre into new places. There are a couple of moments where different melodies are explored and the uncompromising edge of crust punk colours the Burial sound, but at its best, it merely takes a classic black metal base and makes it sound bigger and tighter. On that score, these eleven slices of old school brutality serve the band well, and everything sounds very sharp. Even though the material is only really likely to appeal to those who already enjoy black metal from a variety of sources, for those guys, this album is definitely worth checking out.

November 2024