You might not be aware of them, but Cult Burial generated a bit of a ripple in the metal underground with their self-titled debut back in 2020. Garnering top scores from whosoever covered it, the album’s blend of black, death, and doom did possess a certain je ne sais quoi in its moody but somewhat raw approach. It was not covered here, however, and as you know, thou shalt hath no other blogs. So it falls to me, and follow-up Reverie of the Malignant, to determine the mettle of these UK upstarts. Is the music worth the noise?
On album number two, Cult Burial take that smörgåsbord of sounds that defined their debut and turn up the melodic and atmospheric elements. The result is an intriguing genre mélange that recalls a broad spectrum of acts. Groovily churning riffing, barking growls, and crooning, echoing guitar create passages that remind me of In Mourning (“Umbra”). Bittersweet washes of blastbeat-backed tremolo brings Alcest to mind (“Awaken”), while at the other end of the spectrum, dissonant, clanging guitar patterns take a leaf out of Deathspell Omega’s book (“Parasite,” “Existence”). The doomier parts sound like Praise the Plague on a less grandiose scale, making up for magnitude with the malice of an extra dose of blackened death that dynamically pulls the music into the fast lane before dropping it back into the abyss again.
Despite its apparently broad influences, Reverie of the Malignant feels like a coherent whole, its stylistic twists an expression of Cult Burial’s idiosyncrasies. When fused together, the furious and the funereal faces of the soundscape become something with real feeling. Often this feeling is unsettling, and this grows to be the case more and more as the album progresses. Notes hang eerily in dense atmosphere (“Umbra,” “Paralysed,” “Oblivion”); sinister riffs climb scales over churning (“Parasite”) or creepily sedate percussion (“Strive”), and descend with mournful urgency. Even the way the drums keep shifting into an aggressive march, or tripping restlessly between tempos, is menacing. All this culminates in highlight “Strive,” whose ominous, melancholic, feedback-heavy doomy theme meets disso-death in the best way. Yet some of the best material comes when Cult Burial play up the post-metal and lean into mournful, yet uplifting refrains. “Awaken,” specifically uses its guitar refrains to create repeated sparkles of nostalgic joy, crying in emphatic elongation of the roaring chorus vocals, and ringing out over rolling percussion, the best solo on the record. It’s got groove, and this latter factor elevates the black metal elsewhere, to something uniquely fun (“Paralysed,” “Existence” ).
The sinister vibe, the dark atmospheres, the occasional kooky bounciness and melodic heartiness give Cult Burial personality, and this helps them stand out. Small tears in the fabric, however, prevent this from totally enveloping and convincing the listener. Guitars are consistently pushed a little too far back at moments when their presence is needed most to carry a melody, while at others, its very crispness feels jarring, and in need of a cloak of smokey reverb to fit with the otherwise spooky atmosphere of the soundscape. Although carrying the character of one, pretty unique-sounding band, there’s a sense that they went with every good idea they had. As much as it pains me to say it—as it’s probably my favorite track—”Awaken” feels out of place amongst its increasingly malevolent brethren. On that point, this, and the preceding opener “Umbra” seem to introduce an album of a more progressive, ethereal, and post-metal bent than that which follows. It’s not that the sound is actually very different, but the emotions are. How much that matters to you is a personal preference, but it is noticeable nonetheless.
Cult Burial are undoubtably onto something. With a variety of reminiscent elements, they end up sounding like no one else. The fact that they are still unsigned surprises me, but they seem to be doing well by themselves. Perhaps with a label signing, and a couple more years honing their distinctively dark and dynamic sound, they’ll produce something that will really turn heads throughout the black metal world.
Rating: Good
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Released
Websites: cultburial.com | cultburial.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/cultburial
Released Worldwide: October 20th, 2023
