Burial Hordes – Ruins (Transcending Obscurity)
Wednesday, 14th June 2023
Amongst the many quality bands in the Greek black metal scene, Burial Hordes is one of which has certainly cemented their place in the upper echelon, though are also a name that should be uttered more often. Having been plying their trade since 2001, they can be considered veterans at this juncture, and have a fine and varied discography. Early works such as War, Revenge and Total Annihilation and Devotion to Unholy Creed carried an old school grainy production while showcasing an intelligent song structure and seriously wicked guitar work. The band expanded their sound on Θανατος αιωνιος (The Termination Thesis) by slowing the tempo a few steps and employing eclectic compositional decisions that ultimately freshened up proceedings.
Since then, five years have passed, and Burial Hordes has returned with Ruins in tow. What we have is an album that is a mix of their early traditional second wave rawness, combined with the honed songwriting chops of their prior album, and adding in an injection of death metal chunkiness. Creatively, the band isn’t sitting still, and we applaud striving to continuously evolve.
Opener “In the Midst of a Vast Solitude” and tracks like “Perish” showcase all of these elements, with a wall of sound opening filled with thick death metal riffs, while also applying the brakes somewhat within sections to allow breathing room. Transitioning to a full galloping combination of gargantuan drums and fuzzy guitar rhythms drives “Insubstantial” into full-on anarchy that quenches the thirst for a taste of directness.
Methodical blackened atmospheres make up entries such as “Wandering Stream of Wind” and “Infinite Sea of Nothingness,” allowing poignantly nasty leads and thick rhythmic crunchiness to fully enrapture the listener, leaving an aura of slow, unavoidable destruction. Blackened death mixtures personify “Purgation,” whereas closer “…to the Threshold of Silence” again embraces the brooding slow path to evisceration with frightening results. The moments when precise blackened doom framework combines with in-your-face death metal chops is where Ruins achieves its true zenith.
While songwriting-wise being a mixture of old and new, the production aims to tow that line, equating to a somewhat coarse and gritty affair, while also containing the right amount of clarity to not fall into unlistenable jumble of indecipherable noise territory. Truthfully, that tells the story of where Burial Hordes find themselves at this point of their existence; not forgetting where they came from, while also wisely employing new purviews and techniques that keenly avoid the possibility of staleness. While not necessarily reaching the bombastic heights of fellow countrymen Decipher, Burial Hordes have unleashed a heavy as hell, intriguing album in Ruins that finds more than one way to drag one into the bleak darkness. If you haven’t been paying attention to these fellows, it’s about time to do just that.
