Russell HughesBuried In Verona – Vultures Above, Lions Below (UNFD)
Genre: Metalcore
The music industry has been guilty of chewing up and spitting out talented acts in the past, but Buried In Verona are one band who have been able to come out of the other side with a body of work that counts as one of their best.
Jettisoning half the band and starting again is a brave move to take but it’s a move that has paid off.
At the band’s own admission, Vultures Above, Lions Below is the record they have always wanted to make. Keeping the writing and producing duties in house has meant the album has had no external influences on it, and the Australian outfit’s fifth album sounds as organic as ever.
You can tell a band has free reign with the creative process when a song, Seperation, starts off with the lyrics ‘you fucking make me sick’. It’s a brutal slab of metal that oozes cynicism, but it’s not all doom and gloom as Done For Good strikes a more optimistic tone to the album.
Make no bones about it, VALB is an intensely personal album and one that you suspect was an emotional one to write. The music is polished and the riffs weave their way between brutal and rhythmic without ever missing a beat.
If there ever was a time to answer the critics with a powerful, accomplished piece of work this was it for Buried In Verona. Thankfully they survived, now they have thrived. Russell Hughes
RUSHONROCK RATED: 10/10 Running Ahead Of The Pack