Burst “Origo” CD

I never really recall that Burst has in fact been around for well over 10 years now. I was first exposed to the Swedes around four years ago by the impeccable "In Coveting Ways" EP (which is well overdue for a reissue, it's simply too hard to find on CD these days), when they had already started to grow rather drastically from their already impressive hardcore/punk background (their first full-length, "Conquest : Writhe", was released on CD in the US by Prank Records, after all), and that EP actually remains my favorite of the band's releases to date.

With, "Origo", the band's third full-length (and second for Relapse Records), Burst demonstrates a continuation of the more focused direction exhibited by "Prey on Life", which weighs in around a core of rhythm and texture while becoming increasingly diverse without losing the consistency and unified atmosphere of their more recent efforts—whereas some of their earlier material was a bit more random in terms of its breadth of influences.

Some have loosely used the term "metalcore" with regards to the Burst, but I disagree, and would keep the use of that term pretty far from these guys all around... they're simply not worth pigeonholing for the sake of convenience, and are certainly fond of Neurosis-esque methods for exploring both literal and non-literal executions of "heaviness". There are plenty of robust drum fills and loads of vocal variation that includes scathing screams and surprisingly soothing singing, with some of those weird little winding technical riffs hanging around, too. And I absolutely adore the quality of their acoustic passages and the way they layer them in against distorted guitars. Despite some brilliant (and Opeth-esque) moments, the seven-minute instrumental "It Comes Into View" really tests my patience at times, especially once the stupid newborn baby samples seep in (cheesy), but that's the only real "flaw" for me. The other tracks make great use of their time, and there are some really memorable tunes in place (namely the awesome "The Immateria").

I love the natural sounding instrumentation, but it sort of seems as though the band could benefit from beefing things up and sacrificing some of that "live vibe" they might be shooting for. For instance, I love all the hard panned guitar work, but some density is definitely lost in the process that lessens some of the punch, so were they to get a little more relentless in terms of just unloading a massive wall of sound... yeah, sign me up. Nice, elegant looking layout and well executed lyrics with this one as well.

Sleep is all I ask. Rest from all these bitter ends. I've found a place where I won't be missed...

Burst "The Immateria"
Burst "Where the Wave Broke"

Despite the disc having been out for months already in both Europe and Japan, it won't be hitting the streets in the US until February for some odd reason, so you'll have to go with a pre-order if you're impatient or what have you:

@ Relapse Records