OCCULT BURIAL - Hideous Obscure
June 10, 2016, 7 years ago
(Invictus Productions)
I can get behind this Ottawa band's deal, a sort of primitive blackened thrash that also looks back to early Canuck speed metal and gives a sly wink and nod to funsters Cranium. But Occult Burial have a more raw appeal to them, the sounds coming from a blackthrash place, most certainly in terms of heart and soul.
And speaking of raw, this is positively sloppy stuff, which adds to the appeal: while opener “Blasted Death” actually really kills it in a huge way, with the band opening with a near-instrumental declaration of war that is reminiscent of how great thrash bands used to open albums, much of the rest of the album just kinda spirals and dissolves into chaos, the band barely holding tunes like “A Witch Shall Be Born (Daughter Of Darkness)” together, which I love: why should a raw black/thrash/speed band be capable of doing anything but holding on for dear life and hoping for results that are anything more listenable than total garbage? Luckily, here it works, the chaos and noise totally listenable, totally fun, and totally a love letter to all that is great about metal.
