INTER ARMA — Sky Burial (review)

INTER ARMA — Sky Burial album cover Album · 2013 · Sludge Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Sky Burial" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US doom/sludge metal act Inter Arma. The album was released through Relapse Records in March 2013.

The band play a very eclectic blend of musical styles which makes a genre label almost impossible to apply to "Sky Burial". You´ll find doom, sludge, post-metal/rock, black metal and death metal elements all mixed together to form a rather intriguing and adventurous sound. This is definitetly music for the open-minded listener. The music is generally very dark and the atmosphere bleak, which go well with the predominantly slow and heavy pace of the music. There are however faster blasting parts on the album too, so not everything is doomy. The vocals are mostly raw and shouting sludge/post-metal styled vocals, but there are both death metal growling and black metal shrieks on the album too.

After listening to the incredibly dark and haunting opening track "The Survival Fires", the album takes a complete left-turn with first the acoustic strummed "The Long Road home (Iron Gate)" (overlayed with effect laden almost psychadelic lead guitar sounds) and then with "The Long Road home", which initially starts in the same style, but about mid way through explodes in an almost orgasmic Gilmouresque guitar solo, just to close with 2 minutes of atmospheric black metal blasting. Wow...this album really is eclectic in nature. Or how about the ritualistic sounding drumming in "´sblood". An obvious nod towards Neurosis. Some sections might be sligthly too repetitive in nature, but the repetition is almost always a means to create atmosphere and building to a climax.

The raw and organic sound production further enhances the listening experience, but it is the songwriting that makes "Sky Burial" a keeper. You can play as well as the best and have a professional and powerful sound production too, but if you don´t have the songwriting to boot, your project is sure to hit the ground with a bang. Inter Arma know how to write memorable and intriguing material that´ll challenge and entertain most listeners and the importance of that should never be underestimated. "Sky Burial" deserves a 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating.
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