Extol

Item: Burial
Author: HadeSlayeR

Burial

(1998)

Reviewed by HadeSlayeR

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Label Endtime ProductionsDead Zine1998

black metal death metal melodic death metal progressive metal

This album was quite a disappointment for me, don't misunderstand this is a very good album. I'm disappointed because I was looking for some other things when I gotten this album. I was hoping to get materials like their songs on Northern Lights. The CD insert is printed in gold text which looks great but some pages have a yellowish background so it's quite hard to decipher.

"Into Another Dimension" Is a song that you will find off Horde or Burzum's album definitely brutal and dark, no lyrics just plain hard brutal black metal to the very core. Chaotic stuff not the melodic black that we are hearing so much nowadays. There are some funny sounds at the end not unlike water and some metal(no pun intended) knocking against each other which breaks into "Celestial Completion" with a mighty growl. High-tuned guitars like most black metal guitars with crazy drumming and rhythm going at a very fast rate with several time changes along the way. This will impress the old school black metal fans. But in the middle of the song it resembles the style that they played on Northern Lights, flutes normally come in at the end of the track. When I first heard it I thought it was coming to the end but suddenly the chaotic riffs just comes in. Impressive.

"Burial" The title track is just a continuation of "Celestial Completion" in the style of course. Really hard with some atmospheric parts in it at the beginning but soon continues with the pounding on the round instrument that we call the drums. Some black mixed with death metal here. Diverse song here with parts of harsh black with brutal death with many other different influences. Let's skip on this track.

"Renhetens Elv" Nope I didn't spell it wrong. This is in some Norwegian words which of course I can't understand. =) Progressive black? Black with lots and lots of influences? I don't know how to explain it. Hard black metal stuff but with acoustic guitars thrown in for diversity. It's good to have different influence but this track really tries too hard to add too many things into 1 song. "Superior" This is good stuff, not chaotic black but melodic(NOT atmospheric melody as in Dimmu Borgir kinda black) BUT RATHER LIKE THEIR MATERIALS FROM Northern Lights WOW. I like this song. 1 2 1 2 drum beats on the drums with the guitar having both melody and heaviness. Vocals changes between deep throat growls to shrill shrieks. Only 1 bad part, is the distorted vocals which occur somewhere in the middle of the song. If only they didn't distort it. This would have been the best track on this album! "Reflections of A Broken Soul" Huh?? This sounds quite indian to me. The starting melody sounds a little like Indian instruments. But although this starts off at a slow pace, eventually it becomes harder and heavier and heavier and harder but the riffs here arn't really impressive, sad to say but that's true. Slows down after a while. Some parts sound like Schaliach materials, maybe it's because former Schaliach's mainman - Ole Borud presence in Extol? Nice stuff but sadly failed to impress me.

"Justified" Huh? Listen to the beginning and then listen to Believer's "Dimentia" (from the Dimensions album) starting. It sounds too close to be a coincidence. Definately not a coincidence. What's going on here?!?! But thank God at least the harder stuff are behind the opening. But it brings to mind too much of the Believer's track that it became too hard to concentrate on this song, even though some riffs are kewl here.

"Embraced" This song is nice with high drums(tuned higher) with even higher guitars. 'Embraced by evil, in this world of hate. Searching for love, but it was not there....... Embraced by the Spirit of Life, accepting the Sacrifice. That fills my whole heart with love, the only way to be whole.' pretty much sums up the contents of this song, nice melody but abit Schaliach influenced if I may say so. But this song is done in a great way making it highly enjoyable. Of course the starting of the song is pure black, only after a while does the Schaliach 'sound' come in. But it's definitely a impressive track, one of the better ones on this entire CD. Oh yeah violins are included here. "Innbydelse" Another song with Norwegian lyrics. Starts off with sludgish guitars but in a while time turns brutally(if there such a word?) HEAVY. Harsh black metal with deep growls will scare the devil anytime, although it has different time changes. On the slower parts there is a clean and high voice singing some stuff that I don't understand. "Tears of Bitterness" A mediocre track despite the really fast guitars here. To be honest here, the distorted vocals are somewhat of a pain here. Again I wonder has Ole taken over the songwriting of Extol? Some good parts here, especially after 4:00 where the medevial instruments take over, like violin. I enjoy this part of the song mostly. And when the electric guitars kicks back in, it plays along side with the violin thus creating a almost neoclassical sound for the moment.

"Work of Art" Howling wind, sound of rain fall, the sound of the sky rumbling really made me sit up and listen hard to what was coming forth. Single guitar wailing away for a couple of seconds and the drums starts rumbling. Low growl with the vocals becoming a shriek here. The melody here is kinda strange so to speak. It evolves from 1 sound to another. Slow sludge to faster black to death metal.

"Jesus Kom Til For A Do" Highlight of the whole album might not be any other songs on this album except for this closing track. This isn't black metal nor death metal, it has a distinct epic feeling to it, maybe it's due to the vocals being so 'majestic' like. Slow singing in norwegian brings to mind the glory of God and the majestic aura of Jesus Christ. Sludge guitar riffs at a really slow pace with the great melody makes this THE highlight of the entire album, NOT the fast and furious black metal, NOT the deep and dark death influences and NOT the doomy sound. But THIS sums it all up. The brilliance of the guy in Extol can be seen here. This song proves 1 thing. You don't have to be stinking heavy to be good.

8/10

Other Staff Member Ratings
D_Lister: 8.5/10
Grindboy: 8/10