Grave, Bolt Thrower and Carcass. Fine bands in every way. Mass Burial, these old school lovers, are doing a nice mixture of those aforementioned legends. Mass Burial hail from Burgos, Spain, and have been active since 2002. Now, a decade later they finally get a release out, and it is in the form of a debut full length album. Its mighty title 'Of Carrion and Pestilence' is perfect for it.

Mass Burial's music isn't original, that's true, but they haven't gone plundering all too much. While the music here generally consists of familiar elements, Spaniards have been able to hit their own stamps here and there. However, the guitars are highly inspired by Stockholm death metal sound; dirty, heavy, downtuned. The lead guitar (both melodies and solos) is quite reverbed, to give that other-worldly, evil feel to it. The drums are thundering with some reverb, and the bass guitar is pounding somewhere in there. Apart from Stockholm death metal, there are echoes of Carcass and Bolt Thrower, which give a nice tint to Mass Burial. The album, and even sole songs, balance between chaotic aggressiveness and eerie disturbance, so the songs definitely do not drag on. Thankfully Mass Burial know how the craft some tasty riffage as well as melodies.

The sound is more on the trebly side. It might have been a must, if they wanted some clarity in the sound. While the rhythm section is pounding, the guitars are rusty as hell, or clean as a djinn's shrieking. The guttural/throaty growled vocals are also reverbed. The drumming is a tad lagging at times, but it just raises the chaotic vibe this recording emits. Lyric-wise this is about all kinds of aggressive and perverted behavior, from serial killers to tomb desecrators, and from suicide to torturing. Plus radiation, zombies, and generally, death. The covers remind of old fanzines to some point, which perfectly suits here.

If old Entombed and such Swedes, Carcass and Bolt Thrower mean something to you, as they should, then Mass Burial's debut album 'Of Carrion and Pestilence' is a good pick, if not on the level of the classics from death metal and grindcore genres. But that's how it simply goes in 99% of the cases anyway.

Rating: 7+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/07/2012 18:33