[Review] LIVE BURIAL - 'Unending Futility' [UK Death Metal]

It is always a heart warming feeling when the area that you live in becomes a seething hot bed of gruesome death metal talent. All hail the North of England then for being a place of gore soaked perversity and barbarity! Newcastle's Live Burial are a band who have grown in presence and talent immeasurably in recent years and this has seen them rewarded with a new deal with Transcending Obscurity Records. Not only that but new album 'Unending Futility' is a sublimely packaged release available as a stunning Digi-Pack (which I have) or on 12" vinyl in a range of colours. There is even a limited edition CD and Vinyl box-set on offer which looks like a highly prized collectable. It would appear that this time Live Burial with TOR have gone all out!

Opening track 'Seeping into the Earth' has an apt title as the opening segment seeps into focus with a slow, focused pace combining menacing guitar and prominent bass play to great effect, before unleashing a tirade of full throttle drums and riffs, then once more dropping down into slower, lurking moods of brooding intensity. I'd describe the sound on this album as cavern dwelling, with raw growled vocals that soar upwards before bouncing off the high cave roof, as well as darkened riffs that creep and crawl out from the darkness to ensnare wayward souls. Yet on other occasions Live Burial just opt for impressive guitar solos to add a nice technical flourish. If the opening track was a foreboding inkling into the bands funereal atmosphere, then 'Condemned to the Boats' is a demonstration into their brutal, unceasing nature. Fast, malevolent riffs, powerful drumming and mastery of their gear that borders on technical death metal, LB highlight in the first two track their wide range of talents, song writing and musically, as well as inspirations & influences.

As an album 'Unending Futility' is the complete package, from stunning artwork and presentation, to a cold, menacing breed of death metal that throbs and flows and oozes savagery, whilst displaying a complete mastery of the bands collective craft. This album is a culmination of years of hard work in the practice room and on the road, and bodes supremely well for both Live Burial and the UK Death Metal scene. [8 out of 10]




https://liveburialdeath.bandcamp.com/releases
https://transcendingobscurity.bandcamp.com/