Can I go a single month without reviewing a blackened thrash/speed metal release? No, I can’t. Even in these dark, desolate winter days, where new releases are rarer than hen’s teeth, I find myself scraping the farthest reaches of the heavy metal interweb, scavenging high and low for a release that harkens back to barbaric times of Venom, Bathory, and Sodom. And lo and behold, I’ve found one! Not only that, but we’ve got some new blood entering the stadium, folks. Like a fiery comet sent by Satan himself, Burning Death have come to set ablaze stereos and eardrums alike with their eponymous debut album.
Unlike other newcomers who have a demo, EP, or split appearance under their belt before reaching the full length stage, Burning Death have come out all guns blazing, confident enough in their craft to unleash upon us an LP as their opening statement. Granted, they did form in 2021 (per the handy dandy Archives), so 4 years should be more than enough time to cobble together a collection of songs worthy of mass metallist consumption. And as far as these here semi-professional metal album reviewer’s ears go, if nothing more, the 8 ragers that make up Burning Death are exactly that: Worthy.
When it comes to their place on the first wave black metal worship spectrum, Burning Death conjures a ripping brand of blackened thrash with high speed flashes, complete with riffage, production, and maneuvers straight out of ’84. If Show No Mercy era Slayer and Sentence of Death era Destruction had a baby, this would be it. The riffs are largely thrash or speed in nature, toeing the line between nasty mosh sections and hornets nest insanity, but with that hellfire and brimstone bite akin to early Bathory, which pushes this into black-thrash territory. Simultaneously, frontman Ethan Rock’s violent mix of rasps and shrieks would make Schmier proud!
While the spirit and intensity are present in spades, the one thing Burning Death lacks are standout songs. Sure, the aesthetic is enjoyable for any tried and true headbanger who likes to tear shit up like it’s 1984. However, come the album’s midway point, when cuts like “Cold Bite of Steel” and “Severed” make their stand, it becomes more than apparent what we’re in store for: Evil standard tuning riffs at rapid speed following a strict template, over and over again. Oddly enough, the last two tunes, “Revel in Violence” and “Final Sacrament” are the most memorable in delivery and attack, evoking shades of Teutonic titans Sodom and Kreator amidst the Destruction-isms.
Burning Death is an adequate debut, the power of its performances showing much potential for a band who are far more than first wave phonies. These maniacs have unadulterated demonic rage flowing through their veins, and I look forward to hearing how they progress on a hypothetical sophomore effort. That being said, there have been stronger old school black metal releases this year, so Burning Death are going to have to keep the coals ablaze before fully claiming the spotlight. Until then, keep on burning you blackened brutes!
6 out of 10
Label: Caligari Records
Genre: Black/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Destruction, Slayer, Sodom