CD review, Oct 09. Burnt By The Sun – Heart of Darkness (Relapse Records) CD

So yeah, fuck Metalcore, here’s Burnt By The Sun. Possibly in part responsible for a swathe of screaming nutters and breakdown merchants since their blistering entry onto the scene in 2000, their 2002 debut album remains a classic timepiece of grinding thrash that many bands have fallen over themselves trying to reproduce. After a personnel split of sorts and having now reformed for this apparently final effort, it’s interesting to see what this final statement will be. Essentially Heart of Darkness sticks closely to the BBTS style, that being a musical riff-fest, slamming grooves punctuated with brutal yet inventive blasts and Michael Olender’s rasping and authoritive vocal attack. What BBTS excel at is a feeling of completeness to their songs. They are songs, not riffs thrown together, and they flow as such. Initially you might put this album on and go through it without noticing, but therein lies its quality as it offers more with each listen, once familiarity softens the intensity. I can only touch on the sublime lyrical depths which charge this album; themes of the darker aspect of the zeitgeist abound. I highly suggest that if you like grind or just about anything in the extreme Metal genre, you check this out. If this is the end, then it’s a fine swansong for a legendary band.