This is the second full-length from this relatively diverse metalcore band from The Netherlands, and thankfully the recording, while still not good enough, is a hell of a lot better than last time, making for a much more interesting listen. From overtly melodic chord progressions or clean passages with singing vocals that border on emo/indie influences to discordant riffing and rhythms or moderately complex picking patterns and tremolo picking with abrasive midrange screams, and then some. I like the songwriting a lot for the most part. There are a lot of really interesting chords and note choices used, the changes fit together pretty well despite big shifts in atmosphere and such, and they cover a lot of ground in fairly short tracks without beating you over the head. It's not the most original thing in the world, as I've heard a lot of this stuff before, but the way they blend their influences is creative, and they could be very innovative if they keep pushing the boundaries. The constant movement of the guitar parts in "IV" reminds me of Krakatoa at times, and that always gets me going. Two thumbs up there! The production is an enormous step up from their last disc, but it's still too thin. Everything is pretty much okay except that they really need to add depth to the bass and turn it up significantly. But the drums sound natural, the vocals are well placed, and the guitars are very clear. All I'm noticing is an absence of bass guitar in the mix, and the basslines seem important here so I would remedy that in the future for sure. They're on the right track, which is a good sign. The layout is very strange, and everything has a light glossy sheen to it. The imagery all revolves around blank blue/gray space with scattered images of floating eyeballs, and there's almost no text on the outer packaging at all. All of the lyrics are inside the booklet, but oddly enough the songs are titled numerically. The lyrics are pretty cryptic as well, hinting more at feelings than concrete subject matter, "I wish I'd never woke up. The smell of sea replaced by a clinic stench. Cold white walls surround me. Four white walls surround me..." Not bad. I'd probably can the obvious melodic death metal riffs just because that stuff's too stale to really do any good amidst the rest of this material, but I'm not bothered by it since that's not their focus by any means. Tracks like "VIII" and "X" lead me to believe that this band could end up being pretty popular in the US as well. We'll see...
[Burning Season]
Running time - 34:13, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: IV, VIII, X]
Burning Season Records - http://www.burningseasonrecords.com
