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BURIAL VAULT
Incendium

Apostasy (2013)
Rating: 7/10

Burial Vault is a German quintet and Incendium is their second full-length opus, coming pretty much very hot on the heels of 2012’s Ekpyrosis (Periodic Destruction) work. Originally formed in 2004 as Carbacan, these guys have been around since 2006 as Burial Vault, and feature founding members Tobias Schaub and Alexander Petri (guitars) alongside chief growler Raimund Ennenga (Nailed To Obscurity), bassist David Speckmann (Namrasit) and drummer Immo Groeneveld.

When I first slapped on Incendium I was impressed by its old school feel and the fact that the band combine a hell of a lot of doom-laden melody with those guttural vocals. In a sense Burial Vault are death metal, but far from being the crusty old school guffaw I expected.

I was immediately drawn to the crisp guitar sound, the crystal clear drums and the effective vocals which effortlessly shift between low, guttural growls and black metal-styled raw rasps. Nowhere is this flexibility more evident than in the excellent ‘Moment Of Truth’ with its catchy, almost My Dying Bride-style of aching melody contrasted by the mournful yet deathly grunts of Ennenga.

Strangely, the more I became drowned in Incendium the more I found myself caught between the shades of the album. Those seeking something more extreme and harsh will no doubt find a track such as ‘The Nightly Horror’ far more rewarding. The drumming is faster, the riffs more aggressive, and although they allow themselves to slip into stirring melancholy, for the most part the track is blackened death metal, confirmed by the speedier structures halfway through, but again, the melody is always there, at times more obscure than others.

The superb ‘Catharsis’, with its slow, chugging intro, the epic ‘Soil & Green’, and the churning black waves of ‘Fatal Accident’ all show a band mature beyond its years and comfortable in its skin.

Although Incendium is very much a no thrills melodic death metal affair, the line-up changes over the last year means that this is very much a new start, and the progression is clearly audible.

The album is cleverly divided into four chapters, giving the whole setting a very gothic feel, but I imagine that a number of metal fans, ranging from those into Dark Tranquillity, Paradise Lost and more extreme climes, will find a lot of meat on the bones of tracks such as ‘Peculiar’ and ‘Awareness’.

Burial Vault may not be overtly flashy in their musicianship but there is certainly an air of the progressive about this platter. Incendium reveals itself akin to a set of ancient scriptures being unfolded, and one can’t help but become immersed in those oaken grooves and ever-changing patterns. Not the greatest album you’ll hear all year, but one that still has the ability to affect the soul and the ears.

Neil Arnold

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