Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Burning Bright – Domesday

December 15, 2012 • self-released

I found this band on Bandcamp (of course) some time ago and finally got around to actually checking them out. I've heard more than my share of crap in my mission to find the world's best crust punk, but Burning Bright is definitely one of the better bands so far and this, their debut, is certainly worth the time.

Domesday is a pretty simple album at its core: a straightforward fusion of melodic hardcore and crust punk, like a skatier version of Tragedy. Unlink a lot of other crust punk, though, the production is pretty clean most of the time (and you can easily hear that awesome bass guitar sound) and the melodies are, well, more melodic than usual (almost power-metal-esque on a few tracks, and there's even trumpet on the final track). I quite like the approach, actually; it's a very accessible album and easy to listen to as far as hardcore goes. You don't always have to get bogged down in the dirty, dank sound most crust albums have, and I appreciate that here.

Burning Bright can definitely do some quite catchy rhythms, although many of the songwriting and riffs lean more towards the average side, playing off on a single note or really basic chord pattern that doesn't stay interesting very long. There are some nice exceptions, though—"Vitriol", as an example, has a nice proggy-sounding bridge to it and some really great guitar interplay with the solos; a few of the closing songs bring a great sludgy sound missing from the rest of the album.

So no, it's not a particularly challenging or mind-expanding release, or one that I'd eagerly push on everyone I meet, but it's still a fine album for those days when you just want to rock out and have your brain numbed by some heavy hardcore sounds. Definitely recommended for hardcore fans—and it's free, too!

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