A few days back, CVLT Nation premiered a full stream of HIDEOUS OBSCURE, the brand new record from Canadian evil metal stalwarts OCCULT BURIAL! This album is a cold and primitive, yet lively and vital, record; a traditional yet relevant metal masterpiece, and one that will make you want to drunkenly mosh even in the privacy of your own home. The CVLT gives it our total support and we advise our followers to keep your eyes and ears peeled for the name “Occult Burial” around your town’s underground… as any more releases or live shows from this band are certain to end your fucking life in the sickest way possible! Spin the record and read our full review below…
Hideous Obscure is Occult Burial’s first full-length record, and it contains tracks from their previous demos, albeit in a more polished form. The most immediately noticeable trait of this album is its pace – the release ends before you even know what hit you, not because the songs are overly short, or overly fast, but because of how efficient a killing machine this band is, and how well they string riffs together to keep things progressing at breakneck speed. It will blow right past you if you can’t pay attention and keep up, but after just one listen those riffs have begun to sink their teeth, making the album’s second spin just as enjoyable as an old, favorite record would be. This is due to more than just the guitars, however – the simple but extremely creative drum parts will appeal to any fan of BATHORY or MIDNIGHT, and the unrestrained vocal approach, which leaps between harshes, operatics, and everything in between, gives us plenty of (intelligible!) vocal hooks to fist-pump along to… The triumphant refrain “jackal-headed god of the dead!!” on track four, and the cry of “occult burial” on the song which bears the same name are some of the album’s most anthemic points.
It cannot be reiterated enough how perfectly, authentically old-school this album is in terms of style, and how effectively that choice serves the songs – the vocals in “Blasted Death” drop very, very late, giving the listener one of the best album opener/mosh sections this CVLT has heard in a long time. The guitars deliver just the right amount of sloppiness, not enough to slow down the tracks or lose the beat black metal-style, but enough to make the songs sound human and give the riffs character and a sense of desperation. Even more surprising are Hideous Obscure’s small embellishments and imperfections – the several bouts of sinister laughter, the hiss of “evil metal!” on track six, the totally VAN HALEN harmonic transition midway through the album’s title track, and most importantly, the “One, two, three, four! Shit! One, two, three, four!!” which kicks off “Ancient Returns.” We can’t find a single bad riff or bum note on this album, and even if there was one, Occult Burial would probably still pull it off. If you’re a fan of heavy metal at all, then you’ll find much to enjoy on this self-described “evil metal” magnum opus, and you’ve got no excuse to not buy this album.
Hideous Obscure is OUT NOW on Invictus Productions.
