Black Flame was always going to be a hard act to follow for Southampton’s metalcore brutes Bury Tomorrow. But where they raised the bar for themselves throughout that last blood-curdling record in 2018, Cannibal sets it ablaze. Album number six goes straight for the jugular from the off, arming the utterly visceral opener Choke with some of Adam Jackson’s best drum work. The Grey (VIXI)’s spiralling melodics prove even more emotionally evocative when preceded by the band’s ballsy title track – a neatly produced, defiant effort charged by glittering clean vocals.
While confrontational in all the right places, Bury Tomorrow’s 2020 incarnation makes a marked lean further toward the melodic, exemplified by the heavenly tones of Imposter that stand as a phenomenal show of James Cameron’s vocal range, Better Below’s smooth groove and Quake’s ability to swirl through contemplative downturns and harmonious melodies with ease. In contrast, you can practically hear the circle-pits forming beneath The Agonist’s crushing riff that barges through, making way for Dani Winter-Bates’ barbed vocals, with the frontman on blistering form from start to finish.
Meanwhile, the slickly produced, otherworldly Gods & Machines makes a gorgeous contrast with the raw disarray of Voice & Truth that follows. Kristan Dawson’s riffs throughout Cold Sleep are simply shattering, setting the stage for a terrifically chaotic closer in Dark Infinite, causing carnage by recklessly chucking blastbeats from all angles.
The sheer talent and artistic wisdom it takes to produce such a towering, jam-packed record nearly 15 years down the line proves why Bury Tomorrow are still such a formidable force in the metalcore realm today. Neatly balancing stunning melodies with teeth-clenching brutality throughout, they’ve made show-stopping metalcore look easy once again.
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