Live Burial – Unending Futility (Review)

This is the second album from Live Burial, a death metal band from the UK.

Featuring current and ex-members of Horrified, Live Burial play old-school death metal, and Unending Futility provides 41 minutes of engaging material for fans of the style to lose themselves in.

Death, Cancer, Bolt Thrower, Obituary, Asphyx, Entombed, etc. are all relevant reference points for when considering this work. A classic early-Death approach to speed, plus a slower Asphyx-esque take on death/doom, and then a pinch of the Swedish brand of death metal, means that Unending Futility is a very enjoyable and rewarding listen for adherents to the old-school.

The thrash-influenced spiky riffs impale you with their sharpened edges, while the singer’s Death-like screams savage your soul. The bubbling, rumbling bass seems to have a mind of its own, and the drums provide a backbone to the entire package that keeps everything in place with the threat of severe punishment.

The songs have been created by people that clearly know and love their classic death metal, and the attention they have lavished on these tracks shows. Well-written and full of satisfying elements that are reminiscent of the genre greats, while also belonging to themselves alone, these seven songs are a joy to listen to.

Extra flavour comes from guest vocals, (Solothus, Sepulchral Curse), on one track, and acoustic guitar, (Vacivus), on another, both of which add value and increase the album’s enjoyment factor.

Unending Futility boasts a strong package with strong songs. Very highly recommended.