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BURDEN OF GRIEF
Unchained

Massacre (2014)
Rating: 6/10

Unchained is the sixth instalment from German melodic death metallers Burden Of Grief, a band who formed back in 1994.

Their sound clearly fitting in with the mid-90s climate where metal was most certainly shedding its original skin and aiming for something more accessible, Burden Of Grief has always been a consistent band and today exists as a quintet fronted by Mike Huhmann whose vocal style is one you’ll either love or hate. Personally I prefer something far nastier, but Huhmann does have an infectious throat where his deathly tones are still easy on the ears and fit nicely alongside the well-structured riffs and percussion.

Burden Of Grief take so much influence from traditional metal rather than death metal, but at times the style leaves me a tad cold because although tracks such as ‘Awaken The Nightmare’ are of sound foundation, there is just a complete lack of bite. Maybe it’s the contemporary feel which means that Burden Of Grief have such a polished nature about them, as they lean towards a technical metal style that seems to lack atmosphere but relies heavily on its clinical construction.

The title track is delivered with a touch more oomph, mainly via the drums of Sebastian “Rob” Robrecht, but for me the band is so very much of that mid-90s sound that it soon begins to grate. I guess I’m just so cynical of that time when heavy metal appeared to have been wiped off the planet and all the survivors merely adopted a different, cleaner approach. The combination of weight and melody doesn’t necessarily become predictable. It’s just that with a track such as ‘Unchained’ the band are far better when they indulge in those heavy riffs, but such bulk comes all too fleetingly.

‘Sounds Of Desperation’ begins in ominous fashion. Again the drum leads the way in belligerent fashion, but the twin guitar attack of Philipp Hanfland and Johannes “Joe” Rudolph rarely does anything for me because time and time again the cold melody interrupts any sort of extremity, the result being an almost groove-based type of metal that sparkles in its clinical formation.

Of all the tracks, there are only a few I can really enjoy. ‘Fearless Heart’ is more of a straightforward ballsy rocker, while ‘Turmoil To The Void’ expresses a flowing complexity and angst, but even Huhmann’s vocals start to scrape.

The album has no real winning track and the band seems at odds with itself as it wonders whether to opt for something deathlier or more accessible. Clearly the guys feel that this style of melodic metal is the way forward and it’s kept them well for this long, but this is where the songs, and albums, begin to melt into one another.

It’s been four years since their last album – 2010’s Follow The Flames – but Burden Of Grief just don’t have enough to convince me that they are a top-notch metal band offering anything I should be remotely interested in. This is all very nice and refined, but I find myself saying that a lot regarding bands who formed during a time when I had lost all hope for the metal genre.

Neil Arnold

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