AFTER THE BURIAL

In Dreams

Sumerian
rating icon 8 / 10

Track listing:

01. My Frailty
02. Pendulum
03. Bread Crumbs and White Stones
04. To Carry You Away
05. Sleeper
06. Promises Kept
07. Encased in Ice
08. Your Troubles will Cease and Fortune will Smile Upon Jocke


It is no secret that a number of bands on the Sumerian roster have been largely responsible for the ascendance of the label's status from "just under the radar" to "gold standard for new school tech-metal" (or thereabouts); THE FACELESS, BORN OF OSIRIS, and VEIL OF MAYA, to name three of the biggies. Leaving AFTER THE BURIAL out of that group would be remissive though and new album "In Dreams" is one of the most refreshing tech/death/metal/core (let's just call it "Sumerian Metal") albums to be released in 2010. It offers further explanation as to why fans and critics alike have been paying so much attention to Sumerian Records the last couple of years.

What makes AFTER THE BURIAL's third album — one that outwardly seems to mine territory similar to many of their peers — sound so springtime fresh? Songwriting and identity, baby! In other words, borrowing from the MESHUGGAH School of Time Signature and the UNEARTH Institute for Melodic Death and Thrash Metal doesn't seem so tried and true when AFTER THE BURIAL does it. Better yet, at least as far as some of you are concerned, the boys in the band are adept at maintaining a wholly aggressive, technically-focused stance, while seamlessly incorporating varying levels of melody. Said variation rises to unforgettable levels on "To Carry You Away" and "Promises Kept", both of which utilize surprisingly effective clean vocals (dreamy and falsetto, respectively). The "surprisingly effective" part is all about AFTER THE BURIAL injecting the croon in a way that is not only tasteful, but doesn't smack of formula-based bandwagon jumping. Considering the arrival is smack dab in the middle of Anthony Notarasmo's already supremely violent bark and all those stabbing guitars, might even qualify the event for a next-level impact status otherwise known as shock. Not quite, but you get the idea.

Further belaboring of the point detracts from the bigger story here, which pertains to the preciseness of the AFTER THE BURIAL method on "In Dreams". In a mere 35 minutes, the group dishes up an array of intelligently composed chunk and dynamically delivered groove wrapped around a wisely selective (and MESHUGGAH-esque) basis of rhythmic angularity. At least check out "Encased in Ice" if the opportunity happens to presents itself. It is easily one of the most righteous examples of metallically-altered funk 'n stutter cadence (in a FAITH NO MORE kind of way) and wicked bass tone reverberation I've come across in years. Three words for AFTER THE BURIAL's new platter: Jolly good show.

Author:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).