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LIVE BURIAL
Curse Of The Forlorn

Transcending Obscurity (2022)
Rating: 8/10

Vocally, I’ve always dug the dehydrated rasps of Live Burial frontman Jamie Brown and I think it’s fair to say that this Newcastle, England-based band have been somewhat overlooked over the years when it comes to UK death metal. Now the scene is fully on the march, particularly with some savage Scottish acts emerging, I’d like to think that Live Burial’s third full-length outing will attract the attention and praise it deserves, because these guys are really progressing nicely.

Live Burial has always liked to dabble in doomy, cavernous riffs which echo round the walls like the guttural bellows of a thousand tortured souls. Curse Of The Forlorn continues to plough great furrows when it comes to Asphyx-styled extremity, but there’s also black / death flashes concealed within the folds of morbidity as well as occasional forays into, for example, the potent New York or Floridian death metal scene.

From the off we are treated to some wondrously macabre tones, and even through the blazing speed – ‘Despair Of The Lost Self’ for example – is a monolithic slab of suspenseful melody and simmering before the intensity grows. And then there’s the chunky, morose slaying of ‘My Head As Tribute’ where the bass really rattles through the cranium.

Although I love the artwork, it really isn’t symbolic of the sonorous horrors which lurk within, but that’s just my opinion. ‘Blood And Copper’ begins in crushing, doomy fashion whereby the bass flexes and springs to an avalanche of heated percussion and squirming, moody leads.

‘The Ordeal Of Purification’ is one of the most aggressive tracks on offer, but there’s still that bleak yet commanding air of melody throughout as the combo unveils high levels of majestic gloom. ‘Sepulchre Of Collapsed Kingdoms’ is harsh in its tone yet the band is now showcasing a streak of complexity which wasn’t present on previous releases, suggesting a new found energy, excitement and most importantly, a groove. It’s no real surprise then that the Finnish death metal scene seems to be influential here; those soot-coated scowls emerging during mid-tempo echoes.

Guitarists Jake Bielby and Rob Hindmarsh have certainly excelled themselves with those humid flourishes of extremity, while drummer Matthew Henderson works tirelessly to bring crucial tirade after tirade to accompany the bestial bass work of Lee Anderson.

The way tracks such as the aforementioned ‘Sepulchre Of Collapsed Kingdoms’ exhibit a technical fluidity is to be marvelled at, with my only real issue being that Live Burial’s sound somehow lacks that quintessentially British earthiness, the combo instead opting for a Skeletal Remains meets Unleashed vibe. However, this is still ferocious, multi-faceted death metal that expresses a mordant snap throughout. The jarring ‘This Prison I Call Flesh’ is an epic way to round off a stirring, flesh-ripping opus that should, hopefully, propel these guys to new, acerbic heights.

Neil Arnold

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