If your main critique of 2014’s Runes was that Bury Tomorrow weren’t spitting out the same effortless hooks that were splattered all over The Union Of Crowns, then Earthbound may not be the remedy you were looking for – but it’s the one you need.
Where the south coast metalcore mavericks could have opted for bigger, more simplistic choruses in an effort to recapture the fire of that 2012 breakthrough, they’ve instead gone heavier – and the results are striking.
The choruses are still there, of course, with Memories and Last Light in particular destined for big singalongs, but the likes of crushing opener The Eternal, 301 – featuring a ludicrous and fun-as-hell cameo from Jamey Jasta (he says “cunt”, it’s brilliant) – and the machine gun-riff-powered, deceptively catchy title track boast riffs so murderous they should be locked up for life.
The real star of the show, however, is frontman Dani Winter-Bates; his throaty roar has matured into a real force of nature, as highlighted on Cemetery, boasting a scream so hellacious it sounds like an outtake from a Lord Of The Rings Uruk-hai audition. Finally, Bury Tomorrow have produced the album they’ve been threatening to make their whole career.
