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░ ██ ██ Artist: Mass Burial ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Of Carrion and Pestilence █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2012 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2013-03-31 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Death Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Psycho ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Grave, Bolt Thrower and Carcass. Fine bands in █
█ every way. Mass Burial, these old school lovers, █
█ are doing a nice mixture of those aforementioned █
█ legends. Mass Burial hail from Burgos, Spain, and █
█ have been active since 2002. Now, a decade later █
█ they finally get a release out, and it is in the █
█ form of a debut full length album. Its mighty █
█ title 'Of Carrion and Pestilence' is perfect for █
█ it. █
█ Mass Burial's music isn't original, that's true, █
█ but they haven't gone plundering all too much. █
█ While the music here generally consists of █
█ familiar elements, Spaniards have been able to hit █
█ their own stamps here and there. However, the █
█ guitars are highly inspired by Stockholm death █
█ metal sound; dirty, heavy, downtuned. The lead █
█ guitar (both melodies and solos) is quite █
█ reverbed, to give that other-worldly, evil feel to █
█ it. The drums are thundering with some reverb, and █
█ the bass guitar is pounding somewhere in there. █
█ Apart from Stockholm death metal, there are echoes █
█ of Carcass and Bolt Thrower, which give a nice █
█ tint to Mass Burial. The album, and even sole █
█ songs, balance between chaotic aggressiveness and █
█ eerie disturbance, so the songs definitely do not █
█ drag on. Thankfully Mass Burial know how the craft █
█ some tasty riffage as well as melodies. █
█ The sound is more on the trebly side. It might █
█ have been a must, if they wanted some clarity in █
█ the sound. While the rhythm section is pounding, █
█ the guitars are rusty as hell, or clean as a █
█ djinn's shrieking. The guttural/throaty growled █
█ vocals are also reverbed. The drumming is a tad █
█ lagging at times, but it just raises the chaotic █
█ vibe this recording emits. Lyric-wise this is █
█ about all kinds of aggressive and perverted █
█ behavior, from serial killers to tomb desecrators, █
█ and from suicide to torturing. Plus radiation, █
█ zombies, and generally, death. The covers remind █
█ of old fanzines to some point, which perfectly █
█ suits here. █
█ If old Entombed and such Swedes, Carcass and Bolt █
█ Thrower mean something to you, as they should, █
█ then Mass Burial's debut album 'Of Carrion and █
█ Pestilence' is a good pick, if not on the level of █
█ the classics from death metal and grindcore █
█ genres. But that's how it simply goes in 99% of █
█ the cases anyway. █
█ █
█ --- █
█ █
█ It's getting to the point at which so many bands █
█ are representing the cult Swedish sound of the █
█ late 80s/early 90s that it's becoming nigh on █
█ tedious to wade through all their guts and bones, █
█ but here we've got a Spanish act, Mass Burial who █
█ after a decade of planning have decided to do just █
█ that. Granted, they've got a more primitive edge █
█ to their compositions than a lot of other bands █
█ waxing nostalgic over Left Hand Path, Clandestine, █
█ Into the Grave, Dark Recollections, Like an Ever █
█ Flowing Stream and so forth, but I couldn't help █
█ but feel that the dark, oppressive atmosphere █
█ created on this debut was a fraction better █
█ handled than the songwriting itself. Then again, █
█ if you're a fan of such simplistic aesthetics in █
█ your old school brutality, I can't imagine how █
█ this would put you off. █
█ The massive, internal organ rupturing Sunlight █
█ style guitar tones are puked out through a slew of █
█ relatively average, familiar chord progressions █
█ built upon the same punk thrust that characterized █
█ old Entombed. Faster, driving pieces like "Intense █
█ Genital Punishment" and the oft blasting "Virulent █
█ Infestation" are measured off against doomed, █
█ grooving sequences like the intro to their █
█ namesake "Mass Burial" or the leaden chug of █
█ "Deathlike Dream". They're good at coming up with █
█ exciting (if not incredibly memorable) leads and █
█ sad melodies that give you that sepulchral feeling █
█ of the older Swedish records, and the atmosphere █
█ created by Ra·l Puente's vocals is a garbled, █
█ gravesoil-stuffed hybrid of L-G Petrov, Matt Karki █
█ and Autopsy's Chris Reifert that seems suitably █
█ crude for the riffing beneath it. The bass is █
█ swollen and contributes to the aural depth of the █
█ aggression, though it's never really something █
█ that stands out next to the distorted molasses of █
█ the guitar tone or the resonance of the vocals. █
█ I certainly don't mind this style. Despite its █
█ obvious level of saturation in the European scene █
█ (and beyond), there are still plenty of bands █
█ doing it justice with their own interpretations of █
█ the classics. Of Carrion and Pestilence is sadly █
█ not one of those sorts of records. It nails the █
█ tone and the atmosphere of the albums that █
█ influenced it, but lacks the haunted and hypnotic █
█ notation or the perfect punctuation of the ghastly █
█ vocals so requisite to warrant numerous █
█ re-visitations. Despite the dynamics present in █
█ the songs, and the contrast of the leads to the █
█ muddy timbre of the rhythm guitars, the whole of █
█ the experience seems to run together, the only █
█ distinctions the few deviations used, like the █
█ raunchy, cleaner guitar and spoken vocals in the █
█ title track. If you are hopelessly smitten with █
█ this style, and a massive fan of the primacy in █
█ Cianide, Carnage, Autopsy, Nihilist and early █
█ Grave, or newer bands like Funerus or Mr.Death, █
█ then have at it, just don't expect a lot of its █
█ hooks to sink into your flesh. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Of Carrion and Pestilence 3:17 ░
░ 2. Intense Genital Punishment 2:51 ░
░ 3. Tomb Desecrator 2:42 ░
░ 4. Mass Burial 3:45 ░
░ 5. Post War Psychosis 4:17 ░
░ 6. Rotten Rise Again 3:45 ░
░ 7. Deathlike Dream 3:14 ░
░ 8. Virulent Infestation 2:59 ░
░ 9. T.T.T.R. 3:10 ░
░ 10. Only One Bullet Left 4:03 ░
░ 11. When Fury Became Blood 3:14 ░
░ 37:17 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
■ █▄ ░ ██
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