AlbumsNovember 29, 201112,919 views

Burst Origo


Origo
1. Where The Wave Broke MP3 2. Sever 3. The Immateria 4. Slave Emotion 5. Flight's End 6. Homebound 7. It Comes Into View 8. Stormwielder 9. Mercy Liberation
2006 Relapse Records
Our score 9

by Cory
2/11/2006

While there's no doubt that Burst turned a lot of heads and gained a dedicated following with their Relapse debut Prey On Life, their sophomore album Origo puts Burst in a class of their own as a genre-defying progressive rock/metal act. Despite bits and pieces of the record reminding me of similarly adventurous acts like At The Drive-In or Neurosis and the pioneering melodic work of their fellow Swedes, Burst manage to "sound" distinctly unlike any other band I'm familiar with. To be honest, it seemed like a lot of 2005 was spent disappointed by groups and releases whose output didn't quite match the hype or potential. Maybe that's why Origo is such a welcome change of pace: It's a highly anticipated second record that blows its impressive predecessor out of the water. Furthermore, it's the sort of album that is long overdue in this critic's humble opinion. Despite increasingly masterful performances and well-honed songwriting from many metal acts around the world, it's relatively rare to hear something that pushes the envelope enough to really excite me. Everybody's mixing something with something else, but Burst seems to want to do something altogether different and that's commendable in and of its self. Fortunately, Burst's vision isn't the only thing exciting about this record. Their striking use of dynamics succeeds in a way that Cave In has only dreamt of. Spacey atmospheres, vaguely folk-flavored guitars and the occasional organ actually find their way into the songs instead of just serving as pleasant non-sequiturs to metal songs. Tracks like "Stormwielder" and "Sever" are undeniably metal songs at heart, but the rhythms are decidedly unconventional and rarely does double bass even enter into the equation. The Latin guitar kicks into high gear at the beginning of the disc's final track "Mercy Liberation," which ties together the entire record while the song caps it with an exclamation point of its own. Bottom Line: Like recent Relapse breakouts Mastodon, Burst's commitment to originality should earn them a place in the hearts of both metal fans and avid appreciators of various genres of music. Origo isn't going to start a revolution or even a new subgenre of metal, but hopefully it will inspire the competition to step up their game and remind everyone that there is something new under the sun and that only artists can confine their own creativity.

36 comments

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xBurglarx_ 2/11/2006 3:35:11 PM

first post, c-m teasers

overdoseoverdose_ 2/11/2006 3:40:04 PM

absolutely nothing bad to say about this band or this release, or any of their previous releases. pick it up if you dont have it

papertigers_ 2/11/2006 3:48:42 PM

good review cory. Great album and band

anonymous 2/11/2006 4:04:10 PM

hell yes! great review

bolognapony_ 2/11/2006 4:06:08 PM

Lambgoat will be trashing this band in 6 months. Its inevitable.

fk_ 2/11/2006 5:08:23 PM

timeless music, pleasant review.

notorious_dob_ 2/11/2006 5:27:18 PM

good review, great album, great band

picturesofme_ 2/11/2006 7:33:11 PM

agreed furiously on all counts, and with all above comments

jefferson_ 2/11/2006 8:17:27 PM

hell froze over, cory wrote an accurate review

FudgeYourYankeeBlueJeans_ 2/11/2006 8:23:21 PM

ive been all over this band for years now. ive said it for awhile now that Prey On Life is 10/10. this was a great follow-up. i agree on the 9/10. Mercy Liberation is the absolute show-stealer on this cd.

xtroyx_ 2/11/2006 11:45:38 PM

the riffs are pretty interesting, but i cannot get passed the vocals. very out of place and do not fit the sound at all (in my opinion).

thisismyblood_ 2/11/2006 11:47:26 PM

maybe they should have made the vocals a little louder when they mixed this ...

stab_joey_bishop_ 2/11/2006 11:53:12 PM

this was a good CD but not a 9... maybe a high seven of mid-eight.

stab_joey_bishop_ 2/11/2006 11:54:08 PM

*or mid-eight

vegantim_ 2/12/2006 12:44:11 AM

you people really read and trust this dribble? this cd is great, but nothing like what was described. music can not be a 1-10 scale or whatever. but if it could be, this record (although wonderfull) would be less than 9... long live burst, lambgoat... die soon!

bigego_ 2/12/2006 1:37:47 AM

i've loved this cd since day uno of the release i bought it...its amazing

carlthetruth_ 2/12/2006 7:14:20 AM

relapse and metal blade rule the galaxy

elliot_ 2/12/2006 10:03:55 AM

uhh...okay? maybe if this guy didn't sing like a wanna-be maynard, and the music wasn't boring, this could be good. but....too bad it's not!

Joe Black_ 2/12/2006 10:20:19 AM

You can hear a few more songs here: www.relapse.com/ecards/Burst2

dibky_ 2/12/2006 10:57:29 AM

elliot is a retard

anonymous 2/12/2006 4:16:30 PM

i downloaded and am now listening to the mp3 provided. this is the most 'emo' metal song i've ever heard. i definately won't check this cd out.

holycitybradley_ 2/12/2006 5:58:44 PM

6/10 I was highly dissapointed, but I will give another chance

anaturaldisaster_ 2/12/2006 7:50:54 PM

A diverse, interesting release, but the vocals are definitely not suited to the music and far too overbearing.

BURZUM_ 2/13/2006 9:26:15 AM

Aww, was there not enough breakdowns and chugga-wee's for yous guys? Gosh, i just can't wait to the new Remembering Never comes out. 8=>

thisismyblood_ 2/13/2006 11:22:34 AM

you're a dousche burzum, there isn't a single comment on this thread about the lack of breakdowns or chugs. why don't you go throw on a danzig jersey and listen to some iced eart.

united_ninety_three_ 2/13/2006 11:36:37 AM

good review. decent album. incredible band. but i'd say it's more along the lines of a 7/10 by means of not coming a nut hair close to the immense Prey On Life.

yoshimitsusangels_ 2/13/2006 2:52:35 PM

I defenitely had to get used to the vocals at first, but the clean vocals are used a lot bette this time... the riffs and atmosphere and songwriting on this album smoke prey on life.

jef_ 2/13/2006 6:02:50 PM

sort of overrated but decent enough i guess.. prey on life is better

SunnyvaleTrash_ 2/14/2006 3:19:27 AM

Fantastic album.

lambshitter_ 2/14/2006 7:07:00 AM

gets a bit generically boring at times.....alright album

Dave2112_ 2/15/2006 4:32:15 PM

Well done Cory. Yeah, I think Burst are something special and,imo, they run up there with the lkes of Cave In & Muse. Awesome band.

mefuckyeah_ 2/15/2006 7:04:35 PM

amen

Mattapooh_ 2/16/2006 7:27:29 AM

I got intrigued with the Cave In mention, so I downloaded. Digging so far, but totally agreed about the vocals being mixed way too goddamn high and up front.

Coley Thrash_ 2/16/2006 8:14:36 PM

As far as bashing hipsters and highschool scene kids go such as BURZUM so terribly displayed for us, the breakdown reference is so tired. Everyone knows that the hipsters caught on to generic Metalcore not being cool anymore. It's the new Nu Metal. Maybe it will be cool to like Slipknot and KoRn now. Everybody on this forum bashes mosh parts, get over it. When are we going to start bashing recycled bullshit like this album? Has anyone heard of this band called Tool? They sell their shirts at Hot

Lukecubed_ 3/17/2006 9:26:57 PM

HAHAHAHA. I love Tool. Aside from the personal fact that their music appeals to me, I especially love two things about them: they inspire hordes of moronic fans unfamiliar with wider genres of music to jock them as the greatest, most creative musical organism ever, and the (justifiably) annoyed reaction to that causes hordes of moronic hipsters to overthink in order to find a reason to dismiss them. Since when has rock and roll become such a pretentious intellectual workout? I didn't hear ar

Fouchebag_ 4/4/2006 10:19:52 AM

I like it. The rest of you guys can suck on a cack.