The sweet sound of musical violence
Dear Lord
Someone in Burning Skies must have been playing the first person shoot 'em up game 'Fear,' because the forty-three second introduction sounds almost like the game's atmospheric soundtrack. The pops and swirls are soon laid aside for some brutal thrash with traces of death, black and hardcore thrown in. Opening track 'RKD' is three-minutes of shit-heavy guitars, atomic drums, flooded basement bass and razor blade gargling vocals. I'm sure there was a song in there somewhere, perhaps it's hidden under the pissed off attitude and clinical metal mix. Maybe one day I'll find it but for the moment I don't care because the whole experience is like a highly enjoyable skewer to the head.
Dazed and confused after the first track, I discovered that Burning Skies hail from merry ole England, Bristol to be precise. 'Desolation' is their third album and second with Lifeforce records, who should be commended in signing this British five-piece, because they really do show the reams of American wannabe thrashers how to deliver extreme aggression.
Burning Skies' cause to lay waste to humanity is helped in mountainous proportions by a killer production. It's the best production I've heard since Fear Factory's 'Demanufacture' album. Every note, every drum beat and every growl is as clear as daylight itself, yet it sounds so goddamn heavy that even this old grump was set back in his seat.
Track after track Burning Skies deliver true barbarous thrash, yet on the other hand the riffs, slight variations on a single theme and vocalist Merv's growling intonation, help the music become extremely accessible despite it's remorseless intent. 'Damaged' contains some wonderful drumming from Phil, his blast beats and mini-gun fills are at times quite breath-taking. 'Fairytale Supremacy' shows a slower but just as brutal side of the band, whereas 'Caught in the Circle', although sounds a little samey from the outset, soon turns into another head banging thrash anthem.
I think the band at times rely too heavily on the use of power and hostility because there are parts of 'Desolation' that do sound very similar. On the other hand the album's thirty-minute running time suggests that the band aren't aiming for epic, drawn out metal symphonies a la classic Metallica, which is a shame because 'Desolation' would have appealed to a hell of a lot more people if they tried such expansive song-writing.
If you're a fan of brutal metal then this is a must buy. God Forbid, A Love Ends Suicide, All that remains, Deadsoil, Cannae, Shadows Fall, and all the other thousand bands thinking they're the heaviest thing on the planet, can just step aside because it looks like we have new champions in our midst. If you find the new Killswitch Engage album a little too wet and nice then get 'Desolation' for the simple reason that it's fucking brilliant. Amen