Review Summary: "Rareform" is a strong debut from a very technical and brutal band. Although the mix of the album is lacking, the musical performance stands out and After the Burial release one of the best metal records of 2008.
During the summer of 2008, a couple of friends and I attended the Thrash and Burn Tour in Rochester, New York. We drove up from Ottawa, Canada, with high hopes of a tour filled with many of the premiere metal bands, such as Darkest Hour, Misery Signals and Suicide Silence. One of the acts that I was more interested in was a Minnesota based technical metal band, After The Burial. I had seen them live once before and loved the 8-string guitar attack and the technicality of the rhythm section. At first, 8 string guitars seem excessive and unnecessary but After the Burial utilize every part of the fret board with precision accuracy. After the first time I had witnessed the carnage live, I decided to check out their newly released album "Rareform."
After the Burial deliver a Meshuggah based rhythmic assault; you instantly notice this when focusing on the drummer's playing style. The bassist follows hand in hand with the bass drum work for every breakdown on this album and is virtually non-existent, unless you peak the sub woofer. The guitar work is the highlight of the album, due to the fact that Justin Lowe and Trent Hafdahl have telekinetic powers between each other that enables them to flawlessly execute off time signature verses, trade-off breakdowns and harmonized arpeggios. Iron Maiden are a clear influence when listening to all the harmonies on the album.
"Berzerker" is the prime example of what to expect for the rest of the album, which made it the ideal introduction track on the album. The song begins with a relentless instrumental section, comprising of harmonized runs and sick legato work. The vocals are a little under mixed throughout the album, they feels like it's behind all the other instruments. Grant Luoma was the vocalist on the album but later left the band, just as "Rareform" hit stores. He has a one-dimensional scream but he executes it consistently, which makes it a good performance overall. Songs like "Drifts" and "Aspiration" shows the slower, more melodic side of After the Burial. The guitars use some delay effects during the first minute of "Drifts", which in my opinion, sounded very cool and gave them more dynamic in their sound.
"Aspiration" is one of the strongest tracks on the album. A very catchy intro that swells in with very loose sliding on guitar, accompanied with some tape echo. The song is extremely heavy and provides one of the most crushing breakdowns that I have heard in a long time. After the Burial is all about off-time signatures and they manage to keep every breakdown interesting using this formula. The solos on the album are incredibly tasteful and never let up. The listener will hear a solo in almost every song but they don't ever extend their stay, keeping them between 20-50 seconds long.
Which brings me to my favourite song on the album by far, "Ometh." I must say that this is an almost flawless metal song. Every portion of "Ometh" delivers extremely catchy hooks, technical riffs and an AMAZING solo. The solo alone puts this track above all the rest. The sweep-arpeggio gives me shivers down my spine when I hear it. I would go out and put "Ometh" in the top list of songs of 2008, truly brilliant.
"Cursing Akhenatan" and "A Vicious Reforming of Features" are two tracks that are the purest in down-to-the-point heaviness. Those two tracks could easily have been written by Meshuggah and provide the heaviest moments on the album. One downfall about the album is that the bass drum tone sounds dry and uninspired. The mixing of the album sucked the life out of the low end and mid range tone, which I can only hope will be improved by the time the next album rolls around. The two most accessible tracks for general metal fans would be the title track, "Rareform" and "The Fractal Effect." They provide catchy verse riffs and some two-step beats that bring a different edge to the sound. The breakdowns are just as brutal as any other song that they do, which becomes clearer when hearing the songs as a whole.
After the Burial have delivered a very strong record in the musical aspect of things, but the production and mixing of the album bring down my overall rating of "Rareform." The guitar work is very well done and the drumming performance compliments the sound that After the Burial are going for. The only other complaints would be the bass drum sounding too dry and bass guitar work being non-existent. "Rareform" will generate a solid fan base and I look forward to more After the Burial in the future.
