Live Burial – Forced Back To Life. (Dunkelheit Produktionen. 2016).

Live Burial is an unholy union of Autopsy, Asphyx, Obituary, and Buckfast and Amaretto milkshakes. Since 2012, they have been terrorising the North East with their rotten, vomit-drenched brand of dipsomaniac Death Metal, and have finally unleashed their debut album. The album kicks off with an eerie, 70’s/80’s horror inspired intro from Slasher Dave of Acid Witch, which sets the scene perfectly for this blood-soaked bag of guts and rage. A relentless all-out assault is in place with the title track and Age of Oblivion follows. Doomier passages abound in tracks like Sleep Paralysis or Hung Above The Meat Grinder, which also features some twisted melodies and solos that perfectly compliment the more mechanistic riffing that propels the song forward- as an aside, it is reminiscent of the sort of nightmare the lyrics describe. King Diamond influence is also audible on the song Mocata’s Revenge, which used to go under the working title of Mercyful Diamond, which adds a bit to the diversity of this band. As to be expected from these drunken, Geordie and Scottish hellions, the riffs are good, heavy, and bludgeoning, with evil solos and superb, exciting drumming thrown into the mix to produce a great album. Jamie’s vocals sound as tortured and meaty as always, and reminiscent of Chuck Schuldiner/early Chris Reifert, which helps force back to life the sickening nature of their lyrics. The use of bass is also good, especially in the intro to Beyond Death. On the production, the album is brilliantly produced, with every instrument being clear and audible in the mix. I particularly love the sound of the drums, which just adds to the pummelling putridity of these maniacs. Guitars could be beefed up a bit to make it perfect. It is no surprise that the mixing was done by Dan Lowndes of Cruciamentum and Resonance Sound Studio, as it is produced to perfectly compliment the music. Overall, it is what I expected from these drunken degenerates.

8/10.