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Burst: Lazarus bird
13/02/09 || The Duff
I don’t know anything about the most obvious of roots when it comes to Mastodon’s “Remission”, so it would be safe to say I consider said album unique – I think that nothing has been done like it before or since, even though the band has influenced many throughout its career. Burst’s “Lazarus Bird” has been getting a lot of hype, including numerous mentions suggesting album of the year. When I gave it an initial spin, I don’t need to tell you how excited I got hearing some of the closest “Remission”-inspired music I’ve heard, ever. Repeated listens resulted in frustration, however, as for every killer riff there was something that bored the shit out of me, to the point where I was going to rate it an average score out of spite, the good stuff making me torn in my judgement that I wanted to give up on the album altogether.
“Lazarus Bird” doesn’t flow too well, see, and it seems the band is chucking in a mass number of influences all the while dragging out spacey sections beyond pretension to the fields of all out fucken ridiculous; I also thought that a lot of the album was salvaged by the vocals, which are spot-on throughout, and unfortunately well and truly above everything else in terms of expressiveness (some of the “emotional leads” will surely have some of you balking). In time though, the album did truly open up, and even what at first appeared like a lame conception, taken from a sub-genre of music that would have most of us spitting to the floor, went on to take hold despite the simplicity and jarring contrast when juxtaposed the balls-out heavier parts (don’t be expecting riffs that’ll nail your feet to the floor, though). Sure, prog and Mastodon-esque riffs can belong well together (you wouldn’t believe who I’d recommend to prove such a statement), but Burst don’t seem to have the knack for it due to some of their influences being too pussified for a metal band.
All said, the musicianship is all kinds of Ace Frehley (Paris Hilton does well holding up against the likes of Brann Dailor on the drums), and you’ll realize just how adept these guys are when you come across the twin-guitar widdly bits heavily inspired by Mastodon during their most primal phase. I don’t want to give the wrong impression about “Lazarus Bird”, for I truly love the album, but it lacks a certain something, disabling it from holding a place amongst the best of a rather lacklustre 2008. It did make me purchase “Origo” (the band’s past release), so I would definitely consider myself a fan – “Lazarus Bird” is more Mastodon-inspired than its predecessor, and they’ve toned down the Neurosis worship too; overall, this is not a very heavy album, but a slow-drifting voyage through clashing territories that somehow works, just something that is not as mind-blowing as one would hope.
8 great CD’s and that is all out of 10.
- Information
- Released: 2008
- Label: Relapse Records
- Website: www.burst.nu/
- Band
- Robert Reinholdz: guitars
- Linus Jagerskog: vocals
- Jonas Rydberg: guitars
- Jesper Liverod: bass
- Patrik Hultin: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Hold Vertigo
- 02. Exterminate The I
- 03. We Are Dust
- 04. Momentum
- 05. Cripple God
- 06. NineteenHundred
- 07. (We Watched) The Silver Rain
- 08. City Cloaked
