It’s an interesting time to be a human. I’m sure you know why, and I’m equally certain that you’re tired of hearing about it. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered the lives of large swaths of the world’s population, and depending on where you live its grip on the day-to-day operations of our lives seems nearly inescapable. From the media we consume to the grocery stores where we shop, evidence of the novel coronavirus’ impact is pervasive. During these stay-at-home, wave-at-friends-from-a-distance times, it’s essential that we find effective ways to combat the side effects of isolation. For myself, music has been a balm for my beleaguered soul, and UK death metal juggernauts Live Burial are an act delivering unto me and thee the goods. We’re pleased to present for your enjoyment a track from their new album Unending Futility entitled “Rotting on the Rope”, premiering exclusively at Heavy Blog Is Heavy.
Fans of old school death metal should find plenty to love in this hefty slab of nastiness. Clocking in beyond seven minutes in length, “Rotting on the Rope” is an unrepentant, unremitting composition that’s just what the doctor ordered for these trying times. It’s angry, it’s nasty, and it’s epic enough in scope to be labeled ambitious. The riffs here are a nice mix of oppressively heavy and catchy, detailing the band’s maturation as songwriters since their debut dropped in 2016. Peppering in a few solos doesn’t hurt matters in the variety department, either. The vocals, in true osdm fashion, feel screamed with fury from the back of an abandoned warehouse, reverberating over the instrumental maelstrom with fiendish glee. I wouldn’t say it’s a novel approach to the genre, but when you’re playing music with this level of precision I couldn’t care less about innovation. This is death metal written for death metal lovers, and accomplishes its mission of sonic destruction with verve and violence.
Live Burial will be dropping their sophomore offering on April 3rd through Transcending Obscurity Records, and I strongly encourage anyone who enjoys this band’s music or this label’s output to pre-order it. Now more than ever, the underground metal community can make a difference by keeping our favorite bands and labels afloat during times of deep financial strain. The best way we can do that is by purchasing music and merch through avenues that directly support artists and their output. So get to it. We need more music like this to help us through this dumpster fire of a year. Stay safe out there, friends.