Burial Hordes emerges from the abyss.
Formed in Greece in 2001 and currently comprising D.D. (guitar/bass, Anticreation, Enshadowed, Vomit Church…), K.T. (guitar/bass, Dead Congregation, ex-Enshadowed…) and T.D. (vocals, ex-Ravencult), the band calls on Eugene Ryabchenko (drums, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Banisher…) and Khaos Diktator Design (artwork, Asagraum, Corpus Diavolis, Crescent, Helleborus, Lock Up, Nattverd, Saor, Nordjevel…) to complete Ruins, their fifth album, released by Transcending Obscurity Records in 2023.
The band immediately sets its most aggressive tones with In the Midst of a Vast Solitude, the opening track, letting Death Metal roots energize Black Metal oppression, complemented by choking vocals. Even when the band reveals its slowest, most haunting parts, the crushing darkness lingers, leading us to Insubstantial and its foggiest elements. A few occult melodies manage to pierce the murky veil constantly feeded by guitars, while also relying on an Old School basis we also have on Perish, a rather contrasted composition giving real prominence to occult, soaring harmonics. The band also offers a unifying martial part to punctuate its devastating accelerations, then the sound gradually fades out before letting A Wandering Stream of Wind revive the dissonant saturation thanks to minimalist guitars, as well as a relatively calm tempo on which darkness takes shape. The sound remains fairly constant despite a slight acceleration, before Infinite Sea of Nothingness plunges us into its heaviness with massive riffs. Intensity grows steadily with a few softer passages and airy leads, before a final wave carries us through to Isotropic Eradication and its eerie coldness, which slowly progresses before nailing us to the ground with its scathing riffs. The album draws to a close with Purgation, which develops ethereal melodies while the vocalist and rhythm section place impressive tones to shade the dissonant touches, then …To the Threshold of Silence closes the album with a much slower, heavy and unhealthy sound, also adding some muffled backing vocals to accentuate the mystical aspect before fading out.
Burial Hordes‘ Old School approach thrives on dissonance, which the band couples to its constant aggressive basis. While fans of occult sounds will be satisfied with Ruins, the album should be reserved for a well-informed audience.
70/100