Origin: Muskegon, Michigan, USA Release: August, 2012 Label: Rogue Records America Style: Technical Deathcore Having recently come off a US tour with fellow Muskegonites The Omega Experiment, Technical Deathcore quintet Bury The Silence have released their sophomore EP via Rogue Records America. The Architecture Of Struggle EP retains similarities to their début Phobiotic EP, although a new vocalist has meant a shift in another direction. Taking orders from The Faceless, All Shall Perish and The Black Dahlia Murder, they cook up a 19-minute morsel filled with the mandatory noodling guitar work and breakdowns. However, never fear that this is a Beneath The Massacre castoff, there is strong songwriting to be had as well.

At first glance, the most striking element of this EP is the number of influences thrown into the pot, most prominent of which being The Black Dahlia Murder. The intro is akin to a horror-orchestral version of “Unhallowed”, sans spoken word, which sadly undersells the band as a first impression. Better to skip to the main meal, where “The Jealous Heart Of A Weak Man” provides ample twin-riffs and harmonized solos, with a strong rhythm section to back it up. New frontman Garvey has several Strnad-like moments, although his lows recall more Oceano or All Shall Perish. The song improves as it continues, particularly in Barrett’s bludgeoning drumming, and the production ties everything off well, if not quite as refined as I’d prefer it.

Of the remaining three tracks, “Dismantle The Past” grabbed my attention the quickest and held it the longest. This may be due to the absence of prominent breakdowns until near the end (where the tension-release is well-executed), the unexpected spoken word section, the call and response guitar riffs or the catchy scream of “You would not believe what these eyes have seen”. “In Darkness I Exhume” is a bit more breakdown-oriented, but still packs in energy and melody, while the title track takes great leaps and dives, before closing with a peculiar excerpt from Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator”. The band show great cohesion on each full track, no single instrument attempting to steal another’s spotlight.

Odd as this may sound, the faults in the EP mainly come from the songwriting. Not that the tracks are weak; in fact they stand up well compared to many of their contemporaries. The issue is that many of the riffs feel homogenous to The Black Dahlia Murder tracks. From “In Darkness I Exhume” borrowing from “Miasma” (and later on something from “What A Horrible Night…”), to the title track’s take on “I Worship Only What You Bleed” crossed with All Shall Perish, there is little to alleviate this suspicion. While the band sound bouncier than on Phobiotic, one could argue The Architecture Of Struggle EP as more of a sidestep due to the unfortunate lack of obvious originality that’s come with the newfound energy.

Ultimately this makes the EP feel as retrodden ground to someone familiar with TBDM, but it’s a capable and solid Melodeathcore EP to any newcomer. Bury The Silence succeed in standing out from the hordes of newer US Deathcore acts, although at the price of evoking comparisons to their influences. Once they internalize these influences into their songwriting, I believe a head-turning full-length is well within their grasp. That said, even after several spins The Architecture Of Struggle EP is hardly a struggle to listen to.

My Grade: 6/10
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Tags: American, deathcore, review, technical

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 19th, 2012 at 5:33 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.