ALBUM REVIEW: Burial Remains – Trinity Of Death

Here I review another predictably crushing release from Transcending Obscurity Records, this time the debut album from BURIAL REMAINS! Due out on July 12th.

1. Crucifixion of the Vanquished slams right into crusty riffs, punching drums and a murkily macabre old school soundscape of purely crushing Death Metal is immediately present. The cavernous rhythms and piercing lead riffs with insane drum fills and great use of the Boss HM-2 make for an excellent instrumental. Soon the ripping vocals are added to the mix that just tears through layers of filthy, putrid and damn awesome Swedish style Death Metal. The whiplash pace of the song (although with some gorgeous doomy, atmospheric touches) is an exciting way to get right into things, a brilliant start.
2. They Crawl blasts back with more phenomenal drumming and grooving riffs, drudging out pure rotten Death Metal, the way it should be. The dancing aggression of the vocals coupled with the menacing fretwork and beastly drum hits is a formidable force that is unrelenting. The lyrics are suitably creepy to go with the gnarly aesthetic and sound of the monstrously heavy band. While keeping things primal, the music is hard-hitting and filled with energy, another excellent track.
3. Trinity of Deception opens with sampling, haunting screeches and spoken word that sets us up for the freight-train of forceful riffs and drums to follow. Hitting us with barbaric savagery, coated in HM-2 fuzz and crushing drums, this mixture with the decimating vocals is much like the first two songs but with some nicely spaced out atmospherics that add a doomy texture to the monolithically heavy track. The use of synths reminds me of Acid Witch, certainly not a bad thing but is fleeting as the band do not let it detract from their decimating grooves for long. Wonderful.
4. March of the Undead does indeed march in with grinding riffs and pummelling drums that is crushing before we are once thrown headfirst into more high-octane sections, this pattern weaves back and forth to allow a nice build in tension but also plenty of slower, headbang worthy sections too. Frenzied aggression and nasty songwriting is used in unison to create a memorable and hard-hitting track with a tasteful mixture in pace. I love the slower riffs and drum patterns with the drawn out vocals that just drag you face down through the dirty soundscapes of the band before tearing you back up with the cataclysmically grinding sections. Fantastic.
5. Burn With Me sets in with more fuzzy, slow paced riffs before the hammering drums and tremolo picked madness comes back, upbeat and rejuvenated with hatred. This track bombards you with forceful vocals, growling guitars and the tight drum work that has been present throughout. The piece itself seems to just throw out raining fireballs of pure Swedeath glory. Dissipating and rebuilding the monstrous strength of the track creates a beautifully enticing sense of foreboding, perfect moshing energy intact. Ferocious!
6. Days of Dread grinds out more maniacally intense instrumentals, once more interwoven with slowly decimating grooves. The fierce snarls of the vocalist over well paced guitar riffing and cymbal crashes builds to a precipice, showing the bands hunger for chaos and meaty Death Metal that is untouched by pretentious mannerisms, sticking true to the violent formula of bands like Dismember but with a renewed aggression. While some may argue songs like this are unoriginal, I think it is a tight representation of how well the HM-2 oriented riff-scape has held up and can still be effective in younger bands. The sampling towards the end is a nicely eerie touch too. Another punishingly heavy and cavernously atmospheric piece.
7. Tormentor is the finale to this crusty adventure into extremity. Setting right in with blistering cymbal hits and walls of guitar attack, built quickly into fast-paced ferocity from the whole band, this final track is a gruesomely intense cover of the Kreator classic that is renewed with a totally killer “Swedeath” makeover, blasting us through nostalgic thrashing madness in a new and crushing manner. A brutal ending to a wicked release.

This album was putridly filthy and perfectly in-your-face. While short, it stays to the point with an “all killer no filler” experience of crusty, gruesome Swedish-style Death Metal. -8/10