Ambient soundscapes collide head-on with crushing metalcore on the third release from Sweden's Burst titled Origo. Fusing equal parts Tool, Killswitch Engage, Mastodon, Opeth, and Radiohead, Origo is a must listen for those who like a little something extra in their metal besides crunchy power chord riffing and screaming vocals. Sure, there's plenty of both on these nine songs, but Burst also add in a good amount of clean vocals, trippy psychedelic guitar passages that border on jazz at times, keyboards, and creepy & atmospheric interludes that would easily be at home on a doom metal record. There's a constant battle, a "yin-and-yang" effect, going on between the hardcore and atmospheric elements of Burst's music, and the end result works real well. Much like Opeth are able to create a sense of melancholia and gloom within the framework of progressive death metal, Burst do the same with hardcore and modern metal. A song like "The Immateria" drips with creepy soundcapes and a variety of vocal styles, while "Slave Emotion" just relentlessly pounds the listener into oblivion with a non-stop assualt of brutal yet mesmerizing riffage and screaming vocals. Textured metal guitar chords give way to eventual jazz explorations on the progressive "Flights End", and the band creates some intoxicating, almost Opeth Damnation era or Pink Floyd-like sounds on the instrumental "It Comes Into View". There's also some impressive guitar passages and textures on "Stormwielder" that reminded me of vintage Rush, and "Mercy Liberation" is absolutely crushing metal yet somewhat symphonic at the same time.
This is pretty massive stuff overall, and quite unique. Just when you think bands like Mastodon, Opeth, and The Dillinger Esape Plan have raised the bar for extreme music, along comes someone like Burst to shake things up again. Those who like to take time to absorb complex and intense albums filled with lengthy tracks have come to the right place. Dig deep, and dig often.
Track Listing
1. Where The Wave Broke
2. Sever
3. The Immateria
4. Slave Emotion
5. Flight's End
6. Homebound
7. It Comes Into View
8. Stormwielder
9. Mercy Liberation
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