Band:
Mike Huhmann – Vocals
Philipp Hanfland – Guitars
Johannes Rudolph – Guitars
Florian Bauer – Bass
Sebastian Robrecht – Drums
Discography:
Haunting Requiems (2000)
On Darker Trails (2001)
Fields Of Salvation CD (2004)
Death End Road (2007)
Info:
Produced by Dan Swano
Cover-artwork by Gustavo Saves
Released 25/6-2010
Reviewed 14/7-2010
Links:
burdenofgrief.de
myspace
massacre
When it comes to the sound of the band, it also remind me of said Swedish band with their very melodic death metal also with the kind of singing that more reminds of those than the usual guttural growling that is commonplace in the genre. I would say that it is melodic extreme metal with the focus set on strong choruses and a general focus on the melodic rather than the extreme side of things. The record is produced by esteemed Swedish producer/musician Dan Swanö of whom I have no real knowledge so I wouldn’t be lying if I said that this music bares his mark, I would not know what I was talking about however, but that’s another story altogether. One thing I can clearly say about the production though is that it is focused on the melodic side of things and that it is a clean sound that the band accomplishes.
I think Burden of Grief sound like a rather positive band and not like one burdened by grief, this is however the fourth album by the band and they may have sounded different in the early days but the sound of today is not one of a grieving band. Another thing worth mentioning is that there is a bonus disc, I don’t know if it is only for a limited issue or for all of them but it is well worth getting the version that has this bonus disc as it is a disc of eight cover songs by different band ranging from Iron Maiden to Metallica or the Doors to Pantera or whatever else there is, the songs and the band covered are listed in the info to the left of this review text. It is worth checking out, even if only as a curiosity.
When starting this record up you get a quite positive feel over the intro and the opening track which happen to be the title track which is also one of the best tracks on the album. After that track it is a bit stale, no real energy or at least not standout feel in the tracks until Mirror of Truth which is one of the last tracks on this main disc and also the best one. Then besides these two tracks the record is quite forgettable as the other tracks don’t really lift above what can be considered the mainstream flow of music. But with two excellent track that I can actually select ahead of much music in my iTunes library this is still a record that ends up in the above average pile even if not by much.
The main record might be a bit long, it feels a bit dull at times which is usually a sure sign of a too long record, especially when you have great tracks on the same record. Maybe a little shorter and it would be great, but then don’t believe it is massively too long just because there is one more disc. This is because that disc is a bonus and should not really be considered a part of the record which is why I don’t mention in much here or name the tracks, but that one is a really fun part of this record and when the original ends, you do not become bored with disc two.
I think that this band is good enough not to be thrown into the flame, even the mirror of truth says so, they might instead follow the flames even if I think some of the songs could be given to said flames in order to improve this record even more. Slightly above the average rating is my verdict.
HHHHHHH
