Burst
Origo

THE REVIEW

I first encountered Burst when they opened for Opeth in Florence. To be honest, I knew absolutely nothing about this band at the time, so much so that, all excited about having gotten my autographs from Lindgren and Wiberg, I watched these guys unload their instruments from their van without even greeting them... On the other hand, that's what all the other people around there did too. And they, poor guys, unloaded their instruments in total indifference. I entered the venue, and after a while, this band started playing... what can I say... a HUGE surprise. Thanks to the splendid sound of the Flog, they made a real impression!!! So, intrigued, I bought their latest work, Origo. And what I found was a great piece of work, a child of hardcore mixed with almost prog-like acoustic interludes (I said ALMOST), with the hoarse and fierce voice of singer Linus Jägerskog contrasted in the sweeter and more intimate pieces by the clean and delicate voice of guitarist Robert Reinholdz.

Ready? Go! It kicks off right away with the seismic "Where The Wave Broke", after a brief xylophone intro, the guitar steps in with a simple yet very effective riff, followed by the powerful entrance of the other instruments. A few seconds of calm entrusted to Reinholdz and then Jägerskog's burst of anger. The music calms again, but not Jägerskog who doesn’t seem inclined to take prisoners. The alternation between his voice and Reinholdz's is, in my opinion, one of the album's best points, a moment where they truly manage to deliver their best. Another extremely positive aspect is the riffs, tense but always clean and precise. They somewhat resemble Opeth at times, with their shift between slow and angry sections... It continues with the equally excellent "Sever"... what a beautiful start!!! Clean guitars, drums ready to explode, then again Reinholdz's voice introduces us to Jägerskog’s rage. And another very fitting track, once more played on changes in tempo and atmosphere, up to the final four screams... SEEEEEEEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!! So full of adrenaline!!! "The Immateria" follows, faster and more driven, with a fabulous chorus. But the burst of rage comes with the next fast track "Slave Emotion"; again, great riffs, and the voice that gives energy... how beautiful!!! The album manages to maintain an excellent level, with the variations of "Flight's End" and the icy riffs of "Homebound". Okay, so far we’ve kept to a good standard, but the whole thing is marred by a hint of monotony... it needs an Opeth-style twist to amaze the listener!!! And the task is perfectly accomplished by the psychedelic "It Comes into View", a slow and caressing instrumental, very pleasing, perhaps a bit derivative but enjoyable like few others. It feels like a mix between Pink Floyd (in the initial part), Opeth (in the final part), and some more modern sounds to make this mix much more interesting than a simple copy-paste. Great piece!!! Relaxed? The next track, the fastest and most driven of the album, takes care of waking you from the stupor: "Stormwielder" is another wonderful, angry, hard, bellicose track, just the way a true ignorant metalhead likes it. Just what’s needed after the calm of the previous track. The piece ends with a keyboard note and... are we already at the end? The last track of the album, "Mercy Liberation", introduced by drum rolls, acoustic guitars. The piece unfolds in a strange melody, of classical guitar, with excellent drums, to explode violently into a splendid track to close, varied and well developed.

Fine. Well done Burst... I haven't heard their other albums, but from what I've heard they have improved. With this album, they have reached an excellent quality level. Maybe in the future, they will produce some masterpiece... who knows!!! For now, let's enjoy Origo, which in itself is already a great album!