After The Burial - Rareform (Re-release) Review

After The Burial Rareform (Re-release)

full review

Tracklist:
1. Berzerker
2. Drifts
3. Cursing Akenaten
4. Rareform
5. Aspiration
6. The Fractal Effect
7. Ometh
8. A Vicious Reforming of Features

Ranking: #50 for 2009

user rating

4
excellent

Chart.

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4.0
excellent

sspedding USER (6 Reviews)

2009-11-20 | 37 comments | 501 views

Summary: After The Burial correct their previous deficiencies to come out with a focused deathcore re release.

4 of 4 thought this review was well written

Deathcore has endured a troubled life since its early origins following the start of the new millenium. Ridiculed by the metal elitists and it’s following largely regarded as not the most knowledgeable music fans. Deathcore began as a genre with limited appeal, however following the universal success of modern generation metalcore, deathcore’s rise has been fast as early releases The Black Dahlia Murder and All Shall Perish produced a style of death metal which was heavy, yet accessible attacting a new fanbase. Swedish death metal riffing popularised by bands such as Darkest Hour became a sound commonly adopted by the new generation of young pretenders. With the vast majority of modern releases conforming to a tried and trusted formula the genres reputation has struggled to establish itself.

After a long period of stagnation, with All Shall Perish and some of the other founding fathers distancing themselves from the genre its short lived existence looked to be coming to an abrupt end. There was however a number of releases which took up a different brand of deathcore, a more progressive Meshuggah influenced style was diced together by bands such as Born of Osiris and Veil of Maya. After The Burial released the original version of Rareform around this period. People’s opinion was divided, there were those who were taken by the excellent instrumentation displayed throughout and there were those who heard the ripped off breakdowns and mimicking of using complex time signatures which most see as the defining characteristic of Meshuggah’s music.

There was one fundamental problem with the orginal release of “Rareform”, the record production was dreadful. The guitars were murky and layered poorly behind the drums which were thoroughly overpowering; the kick drum also somehow impersonated the clicking of a light switch and the overall sound is one that sounds so mechanical it seems like its been programmed on Garageband. The band then decided to replace their underwhelming vocalist with someone a bit more contemporary but far more competent than his predecessor.

The production of the re release is altogether more clinical and all components sound razor sharp. The guitarists wow the listener with their technical sweeping techniques and polyrhythms. They make pick more dual melodies than can probably be heard on all Rose Funeral/Whitechapel and all other second rate deathcore albums as a whole. Time changes are present in abundance as the guitarists showcase their ability to give songs a shift in pace. They combine high pitch with low pitch strings in an incredibly short space of time; the overall calibre of the guitarists is unquestionable. The listener is struck by the guitarists’ talent in the intro to “Aspirations” where they open with a series of technical rock style riffs which progresses into a stop, start Meshuggah style of chugging rhythm.

The drummer’s rhythms are metronomic and incredibly fast at times and the drums now have a refreshing ‘real’ sound. The cymbal production is excellent and they are largely audible, this being another problem with the original version. For example check the end to “Drifts” when there are a number of time changes inside a minute and the drummer interchanges nicely between his crash and china cymbals. In stark contrast to the excellence of the drums and guitars, the bass might as well not be present because the guitars play such a prominent role in the music. The vocals are fairly standard, the new vocalist interchanges between the most common middle range hardcore shout and occasionally ranges to high pitch screams and low pitch growls. Although nothing special he is a massive improvement on the previous vocalist who hampered the previous release.

Criticisms of the album are generally minimised with the much improved production but for the critics of the last album, there are still far too many breakdowns and going up and down the scales of rhythm doesn’t change this fact. Some would argue they are sometimes used as a crutch. The overall songwriting is adequate but some of the songs don’t quite flow as they should and the band has a tendency of falling into generic passages. However this doesn’t quite take the shine off what is one of the few quality deathcore releases.

Recommended songs:
Cursing Akenahten
Aspiration
Drifts

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