LAZARUS BIRD

Lazarus Bird is one of those albums that I almost have to trip over before I remember I own it. But whenever I remember I do I'm stunned how good it is. Long intricate songs with techical and progressive riffs, and with melodies that are both complex and catchy enough to grant endured enjoyment. There's also lots of varations between aggressive parts and slightly spacey moody sections. Somewhere betwen Mastodon and Alchemist maybe?

I guess the reason why I need to be pushed to listen are the dry hardcore shouted vocals which are not my favorite unfortunately. It depens on my mood but somehow they come off as too one-dimensional, missing the diversity of a regular melodic voice and also lacking the fear, depression, madness and other jolly moods that death or blackmetal vocals seem to conjure up. But hey, it's nothing business, it's personal.

Another criticism I tend to have on my bad days is that these guys have difficulty convincing me of their proper identity, sounding exactly like 75% Mastodon and 'something else' for the remainder of the time. The two don't always interact to create a personal sound. Symptomatic is the track 'Cripple God', which consists of Mastodon for 4'40'' and then a nice spacey outro of 2 minutes that could have been from Alchemist or Pink Floyd but that has nothing to do with the rest of the song. Other songs like 'City Cloaked' merge their two sides more successfully.

Luckily for the band I don't have a bad today so I could fully enjoy their many strengths, as in fact, I believe they're better then Mastodon, if only for not annoying us with nasal clean vocals. Great album!

'Lazarus Bird' - Burst (8/10)

The fifth album by this interesting act in progressive metal, Burst originally began as a much rawer hardcore/metalcore act, but has since moved down a more complex and progressive path with their music. 'Lazarus Bird' is the first I had heard of this Swedish ensemble. Like many other bands in progressive metal ironically, Burst will easily draw some comparisons to other bands' sounds from the first listen onwards, but for what it may lack in distinct sound, it makes up in sheer power and energy. Although I have enjoyed very little metalcore I have listened to in the past, it is clear with 'Lazarus Bird' that Burst has risen beyond the confines of that genre to become something much greater. Put simply; 'Lazarus Bird' is an excellent album.

The sound here amounts to an organic mixture of riff-oriented metal, jazz, and complex song structures. While this pairing has been seen countless times before now, Burst distinguishes themselves by how well they merge the two into a cohesive sound. While some (quite famous) bands in progressive metal do tend switch between heavy and light moments to create a sense of dynamic in the music, the two are usually kept fairly distinct from each other. Burst can move from a sludgy riff barrage to a jazzy post-rock build up, and it feels completely natural. However, the quieter, more subtle side of 'Lazarus Bird' does shine quite a bit more than the metallic element. While the crunchy riffs and somewhat tired metalcore-derived shouts have their place and are quite above average for their style, the jazz aspect of Burst is quite a bit more interesting, keeping things both progressive yet melodic and beautiful to listen to.

Be that as it may, there is quite a bit of meat on the bones of the heavy sections. Although things usually amount to sludgy riffs, the songwriting stays tight, and need one even mention the drumming, which is quite simply excellent and greatly fitting of the style that Burst plays. At times there is a sense of rhythmic experimentation, but usually the progressive spirit of Burst is kept in the intensely successful dynamics. When drawing comparisons to the sounds of other bands, there is one that stands out more than any other, and a band I was constantly reminded of when listening to 'Lazarus Bird'. In virtually every aspect of Burst's sludgy element, they sound like a carbon copy of the American band Mastodon. Even though it feels like Burst does this style even better than Mastodon, the fact that Burst has not yet identified themselves with a truly unique sound makes it that much more difficult to regard 'Lazarus Bird' as a masterpiece, even though it has plenty of potential to be one.

"Lazarus Bird" is the 5th full-length studio album by Swedish progressive post-hardcore act Burst. The album was released through Relapse Records in September 2008. It's the successor to "Origo" from 2005 and for now (march 2020) it's the final release by Burst as they disbanded in 2009 after completing their US tour supporting "Lazarus Bird". Burst lived relatively unnoticed in the underground in their formative years but when they signed with Relapse Records for the release of their third album "Prey on Life (2003)" things started rolling for the band and with "Origo (2005)" they further strengthened their profile and position on the scene.

In that light "Lazarus Bird" is actually a bit of a surprise, as it's probably the most progressive, adventurous, and challenging album by Burst. There's no compromise here, trying to cater to a more mainstream audience to gain commercial success. Instead "Lazarus Bird" is a statement of artistic integrity and the album pretty surely sounds exactly how Burst wanted it to sound like.

Burst were always a pretty adventurous post-hardcore act, and both "Prey on Life (2003)" and "Origo (2005)" are quite accomplished albums in terms of compositional sophistication and technical playing, but "Lazarus Bird" sees Burst take it to the next level. The 8 tracks on the 59:51 minutes long album average 7:30 minutes in length, and all feature many sections and musical changes. Burst are an incredibly well playing band and they of course execute the complex tracks with ease. The rhythm section is strong, powerful, yet organic, the two guitarists compliment each other well throughout the album with layered counterpoint riffs and melodies, and on top are the harsh shouting hardcore vocals by Linus Jägerskog. Burst started toying with clean vocals on "Origo (2005)" and that element is continued on "Lazarus Bird". Sometimes "regular" clean vocals and sometimes effect laden clean vocals.

While the tracks are relatively complex and the uncompromising nature of the material should be praised, I'm not so sure I think the band went down the best possible road on "Lazarus Bird". The tracks often lack the immediate aggression and impact of the material on the two direct predecessors, and at times Burst sound like they experiment with the songs and their sound for the sake of it, and not because a particular part fits the track. So while "Lazarus Bird" is certainly an interesting listen, and it's overall a well played, well produced, and well written release, it's also compositionally a bit incoherrent (ideas seem to come from left and right), and the tracks could have prospered from a more strict musical direction and maybe some culling. It's still a high quality release though and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)