EP: V ARTIST: Bury The Kings
Thundering heaviness gets a lesson in the framework of bereavement from Melbourne prog heavies Bury The Kings and their concept EP 'V' due out this Friday.
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With 2018 marking the first unveiling of new music from this Melb quartet since 2016, 'V' takes on a linear exploration of the five stages of grief, with each track individually tackling denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, all the while building on the ferocity and grunt seen on the boys' previous releases.
The confines of a concept album don't limit Bury The Kings with this rampaging release - and to the casual listener you may even miss the nuanced motifs beneath the droning riffs, blastbeats and howling vocals. But pumping across the five songs is an undeniable journey, ranging from anguished intensity ('Stage I - You're Gone', 'Stage II - Hurt') to hauntingly caustic relief ('Stage IV - Skin and Blood', 'Stage V - Goodbye'), all delivered with fluid deviation from track to track.
"What we tried to do with this concept is not only match the lyrical concept, but have the music also correspond with the particular stage," said Wojtek Tomczyk, guitarist for the band. "This has allowed us to branch out into different genres of heavy music, while at the same time maintaining our sound and creating something we are really proud of. We've all had our struggles in the past few years of the band, and the last year especially has been the hardest year for most of us."
While 'V' delivers a standout testament to the group's ongoing status in the heavy world, it also takes the time to explore their prog, deathcore and loud-as-hell dynamics in a controlled environment. This isn't heavy music for the sake of it - this is a carefully crafted exercise in blasting instrumentation and thematic experimentation.
'V' is out this Friday 18th May, but in the meantime you can check out the music vid for 'Skin and Blood' plus more below.
'SKIN AND BLOOD' (BURY THE KINGS)
BURY THE KINGS:
BY TIANA SPETER