- Apr 5, 2003
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Bury Your Dead - Beauty And The Breakdown
Victory Records - VR300 - July 11th, 2006
By Brandon Strader
Bury Your Dead is back with their third album already, Beauty And The Breakdown. Sticking with their established sound, this album is stuffed with brutality, and - you guessed it - breakdowns. I saw Bury Your Dead at Ozzfest-2005 and that was the first time I had ever heard the band. I wasn't too impressed, and thought that their music was just constant breakdowns with the vocalist screaming overtop. Sure, they had the strongest sound out of all the groups on the second stage, and they were probably the best band at the whole festival to mosh to, but at the time I was seeking bands with a bit more depth and songwriting brilliance, which is a task for anyone trying to even hear the bands on the second stage of Ozzfest with their cruddy sound systems, unfortunately. Bury Your Dead surprised me with Beauty And The Breakdown, as I now witness all new dynamics to their sound, and despite the music being heavy most of the time, it is not constant breakdowns like I thought it would be... There are still a lot of breakdowns though, and that seems to be a theme Bury Your Dead is doing well continuing with. Perhaps it is one of their definitive traits.
The first song, "House Of Straw", sounds like it could be one of the singles from the album, with it's thrashy verse followed by a catchy chorus. Obviously, these guys know how to use syllables to create a cool sound with the vocals. Speaking of vocals, they really create a harsh overtone, utilizing echo and pitch-shift technology at times, and with massive scream layers. The vocal performance is good, but the music may sound just a notch more brutal with a stronger vocalist. Maybe the current vocalist just didn't put everything he had into the performance, I don't know, it just sounds a bit lacking. "The Poison Apple" sees Bury Your Dead playing in a considerably different sound. Perhaps some of these melodic death bands on the Ozzfest tour have rubbed off on them a bit, particularly Soilwork or In Flames. The song features some electronic elements, and a much catchier chorus that works, but seems a little bit out of place, especially when the band lodges themselves in another whirlpool of breakdowns. The vocal layers on "Twelfth Stroke Of Midnight" are pretty awesome, and leave me craving white noise... mmm... white noise.
Breakdowns work well in a live setting, and really get the people moving (and waving their arms), but on CD it seems a lot less exciting, unless you're playing it in a large office building with disgruntled employees, which leads to moshing... that situation is very unlikely, however... but it would make a hilarious music video. The reality is, people will probably blast this in their cars, which will probably get them pulled over for "noise pollution"... moshing with the police will hilariously ensue. It's better than getting pulled over for blasting something drab like Bill O'Reilly. Bury Your Dead unleash a torrent of thrashing riffs and unrelenting brutallity until "The Enchanted Rose", which is the gratuitous "acoustic interlude" which is actually an introduction to "House of Brick", but they must have liked it enough to grant it its own track and title. This brief little release from the monsterous riffs is almost refreshing! "House of Brick" is the longest song on the album, and probably has the lowest tempo. It's not a slow song per se, however compared to the other songs, it seems slower. It's got a nice melodic chorus, and of course, the verse sections are smothered with breakdowns! Beauty And The Breakdown is a sweet album if you don't feel weird moshing by yourself or in an office, and the somewhat more adventurous songwriting is very refreshing! If you consider yourself a fan of hardcore, you probably own this already... if not, you were probably unaware of the July 11th release date.
8/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Bury Your Dead Website
Official Victory Records Website
Victory Records - VR300 - July 11th, 2006
By Brandon Strader
Bury Your Dead is back with their third album already, Beauty And The Breakdown. Sticking with their established sound, this album is stuffed with brutality, and - you guessed it - breakdowns. I saw Bury Your Dead at Ozzfest-2005 and that was the first time I had ever heard the band. I wasn't too impressed, and thought that their music was just constant breakdowns with the vocalist screaming overtop. Sure, they had the strongest sound out of all the groups on the second stage, and they were probably the best band at the whole festival to mosh to, but at the time I was seeking bands with a bit more depth and songwriting brilliance, which is a task for anyone trying to even hear the bands on the second stage of Ozzfest with their cruddy sound systems, unfortunately. Bury Your Dead surprised me with Beauty And The Breakdown, as I now witness all new dynamics to their sound, and despite the music being heavy most of the time, it is not constant breakdowns like I thought it would be... There are still a lot of breakdowns though, and that seems to be a theme Bury Your Dead is doing well continuing with. Perhaps it is one of their definitive traits.
The first song, "House Of Straw", sounds like it could be one of the singles from the album, with it's thrashy verse followed by a catchy chorus. Obviously, these guys know how to use syllables to create a cool sound with the vocals. Speaking of vocals, they really create a harsh overtone, utilizing echo and pitch-shift technology at times, and with massive scream layers. The vocal performance is good, but the music may sound just a notch more brutal with a stronger vocalist. Maybe the current vocalist just didn't put everything he had into the performance, I don't know, it just sounds a bit lacking. "The Poison Apple" sees Bury Your Dead playing in a considerably different sound. Perhaps some of these melodic death bands on the Ozzfest tour have rubbed off on them a bit, particularly Soilwork or In Flames. The song features some electronic elements, and a much catchier chorus that works, but seems a little bit out of place, especially when the band lodges themselves in another whirlpool of breakdowns. The vocal layers on "Twelfth Stroke Of Midnight" are pretty awesome, and leave me craving white noise... mmm... white noise.
Breakdowns work well in a live setting, and really get the people moving (and waving their arms), but on CD it seems a lot less exciting, unless you're playing it in a large office building with disgruntled employees, which leads to moshing... that situation is very unlikely, however... but it would make a hilarious music video. The reality is, people will probably blast this in their cars, which will probably get them pulled over for "noise pollution"... moshing with the police will hilariously ensue. It's better than getting pulled over for blasting something drab like Bill O'Reilly. Bury Your Dead unleash a torrent of thrashing riffs and unrelenting brutallity until "The Enchanted Rose", which is the gratuitous "acoustic interlude" which is actually an introduction to "House of Brick", but they must have liked it enough to grant it its own track and title. This brief little release from the monsterous riffs is almost refreshing! "House of Brick" is the longest song on the album, and probably has the lowest tempo. It's not a slow song per se, however compared to the other songs, it seems slower. It's got a nice melodic chorus, and of course, the verse sections are smothered with breakdowns! Beauty And The Breakdown is a sweet album if you don't feel weird moshing by yourself or in an office, and the somewhat more adventurous songwriting is very refreshing! If you consider yourself a fan of hardcore, you probably own this already... if not, you were probably unaware of the July 11th release date.
8/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Bury Your Dead Website
Official Victory Records Website
