It's always cool to hear from extreme metal bands that don't shy away from heady topics, but Buried Inside's 2005 album Chronoclast took things to another level, its theme of time's impact on our everyday existence not so much a meditation as a treatise, reading like the impassioned ramblings of a graduate student completely immersed in a subject most people rarely, if ever, stop to contemplate. Although the concept album idea has been tossed by the wayside for their fifth (sic) album, the songs on Spoils Of Failure are similarly challenging, touching on post-structuralism, rhetoric, sociobiology and biometrics.
I know, I know. Me, either. But on a much simpler level, this album kicks so much ass, it's ridiculous.
Gone is the maniacal, Mastodon-esque speed of the Matt Bayles-produced Chronoclast, which was propelled by the frenzied drumming of Michael Godbout. In its place is a more deliberate approach, the tempo never shifting into any gear higher than 'lumbering,' Kurt Ballou's production (with Bayles mixing) adding some greatly needed weight compared to the thin-sounding Chronoclast. And yes, the Neurosis comparisons are inevitable, but the Ottawa quintet's discipline is admirable, holding back enough to create the right amount of tension on a slow building track like "I," its wave cresting gloriously at the six-minute mark, while the simple, shimmering melodies on "II," "VIII" and "V" are stately and elegiac.
Spoils Of Failure's lyrics try to edify-- Which is fine. We love bands that make us think. But on this superb album, the primal far supersedes the cerebral. -Adrien Begrand
OUTBURN - 9/10
It's been four years since Buried Inside tore the noisecore genre apart with 2005's stunning Chronoclast, and album bursting at the seams with feral violence and steeped in tragic desperation. It's a hell of a record to have to follow, but with Spoils Of Failure, the Canadian five piece has created an epic record that builds upon the savagery of its predecessor while roaming through somehow even bleaker territory. The eight tracks included on Spoils Of Failure lack titles and are instead listed numerically, and this doesn't detract from the overall effect. "I" kicks things off (obviously) and immediately grabs you by the throat and pushes your head against the wall as abraisive guitars clash and roar over a thunderous rhythmic assault. Though the record may let up in terms of sheer sonic terror in places--most affectingly on the mournful intro to "III"-- there is just no light at the end of this tunnel. The whole thing sounds suitably immense, helped in no small part by Kurt Ballou's production and Matt Bayles' mix--anyone who likes their records to sandpaper their ear canals will recognize this as the sonic terrorists wet dream--and there is a rawness and depth that bolsters the broken humanity struggling to be heard. Ugly, beautiful, and truly magnificent. -Dan Slessor
PUNKNEWS.ORG - 4.5/5
If you couldn’t tell by my choices of album reviews lately, I don’t listen to a whole lot of heavy music anymore. It’s not that I’ve outgrown the style -- I still listen to and enjoy any punk or hardcore record I did two years ago -- but so few new bands warrant a listen anymore and so few new records from the bands I did like pan out.
And then it happened.
I heard one chord -- just one chord, of “I,” the first track on Buried Inside’s Spoils of Failure, and it all came rushing back. The same tense, ominous feeling I always got from listening to Chronoclast, the same unsettled, nervous aura completely overwhelmed me. Before I could brace myself, Ottawa’s angriest sons had thrown down the gamut.
You never know quite when Buried Inside is going to unleash a torrent of rage, just that they will. That inevitability came to fruition less than a minute into the album when Nick Shaw’s guttural exclamations started to guide the sludgy instrumentation along. The drums are the only constant; a hard thump on the bass drum and rolls on the tom. The riffs peak and valley with a perfect mix of melody and power. As with Shaw’s vocal entrance, however, things never stay routine for long.
Mammoth riffs cascade in and out as Shaw stretches to the bowels of his lungs, and it’s only the beginning. Guitarists Andrew Tweedy and Emmanuel Sayer trade riffs as drummer Mike Godbout backdrops it all with punishment and precision. One song in and it's already Buried Inside at its best -- the ability to pull serenity out of a cataclysmic musical display. The louder, the more frantic things sound, the more in tune with each other the band members actually are.
“II” picks up where “I” let off and hits the ground running. Quick, chugging riffs give way to mesmerizing chord progressions and Shaw’s relentless screams; the drums are the backbone of the assault as it slowly heightens. Shaw’s quick bursts are punctuated by swirling, melodic progressions, and just when it sounds like the track is peaking, they find another gear. The speed of the riffs increases, the force of the drumming increases, and Shaw reaches even further down his throat to unleash an ungodly cadence that propels the song into the stratosphere. While that level of exertion may tire some bands out, it only seems to fuel this five-piece.
Clocking in at over 11 minutes, “III” is the longest song the band has recorded to date, and the most unpredictable, too. Spurts of primal rage punctuate long, spellbinding instrumental passages and it’s never quite safe to assume the band is losing steam. After every lull, Shaw brings Buried Inside right back into the throes of unbelievable anger, a visceral rage compounded by every thump on the bass drum and every towering riff. What truly makes this band special, though, isn’t just their crafting of anger and rage into a crushing and dynamic sound as fluid as it is relentless -- it’s that the band can match that power with a cerebral approach not often seen in the heavier side of music.
Spoils isn’t one unified, thematic effort like Chronoclast was, but the metaphorical presentation of the band's ideas is nothing if not impressive. “V” sees Buried Inside settle into a very tight groove while expounding on the idea that people as a whole are far too quick to believe what they’ve been told and follow a routine cast for them.
Regulations with the shelf life of milk and rye, and formal charges that of cut flowers / Argued into obsolescence, interests valorized, benefits conferred / The race to the bottom yields avenues of success, but the race to the bottom is not without redress / The hounds will be along soon, one last goodbye to the spoils of failure / One last goodbye to the stock rewards. Here they come.
Four long years in the making, Spoils of Failure may not supercede the brilliance of Chronoclast, but it further establishes Buried Inside as the thinking man’s metal band. The band that questions the most with amps turned to 11. The band with the highest peaks and the lowest valleys. The band that makes every other group that makes heavy music question why they’re even trying. -Anchors
ROCK SOUND - 8/10
It’s been four long years since Buried Inside dropped the awesome ‘Chronoclast’, but now the Canadians are back, and time has done little to quell their fire. Over the course of eight untitled tracks, ‘Spoils Of Failure’ engulfs the listener with wave upon wave of dense sludge riffage, reinforced by powerful drum work and impassioned vocals at times reminiscent of Envy. Atmosphere and melody loom large throughout, with soaring psychedelic solos and brief spells of semi-acoustic serenity offering respite from the chaotic intensity present elsewhere. Throw in a typically crushing Kurt Ballou production job and there can be no doubt that ‘Spoils Of Failure’ has been worth the wait. -Mike Kemp
EXCLAIM!
Four years is a long time, especially in the underground. The tumultuous musical climate buffets acts like frail leafs struggling to hold on. If one looks away, the leaf is long gone and what was once heralded is now forgotten. That said, thanks to their originality and spirit, some acts need not adhere to the confines of timely releases. Ottawa's Buried Inside are one such group, taking almost a half-decade to construct Spoils Of Failure. With its exploration of diverse musical elements and curious idiosyncrasies, one quickly understands how Spoils Of Failure took four years, due more to necessity than wanton procrastination. Uniting the severity and brutishness of second generation hardcore with a sonic fury equivalent to closest relatives Neurosis and Isis, Buried Inside intensify the metallic girth and overall orchestration demonstrated on previous outing Chronoclast. Spoils Of Failure is a sprawling epic delivered with torment and anguish over music that oscillates between serene beauty and chaotic, overdriven madness. With only song titles pared down to their basic elements (represented simply by Roman numerals), every other aspect of Spoils Of Failure is an exercise in delving into the extremities of emotion and musicianship, resulting in Buried Inside's most inspired, cohesive and confrontational effort yet. When presented with an album like this, the wait is entirely justified.
Spoils Of Failure must have been an ordeal to orchestrate; it's so intricate.
Vocalist Nick Shaw: In terms of the writing process, we were picky. We have a loose approach where no one really writes anything and brings it to practice. We just show up and jam. That's a lot slower than someone showing up with a song written. We usually just record with a 20-year-old handheld tape recorder. We press play and Mike the drummer is the bearer of these cassettes. There were suitcases — hundreds of hours of crap — he had to go through to pick out pieces we'd expand on or go back to.
What about the thematic approach? There's obviously a theme to the album?
[It's] about the benefits of calculated negligence, naked promises and even disaster, communication technology or the "information age" and somewhat, of its crime in Canada. A lot is about the language and hype of communication technology and not being conned into them, arguing there's an inconsistency in the representation of them. There's this idea of a Utopian future of universal and affordable access of information for all. Different songs argue different points about it, such as how industry sabotages standard and fundamental aspects of all industry. Another talks about the degradation of telephone service in Canada overall. -Keith Carman
BURIED INSIDE returns with Spoils of Failure, the long-awaited follow up to the band's now-classic Relapse debut Chronoclast. Four years in the making, Spoils of Failure's eight epic tracks marry dense, riff-heavy layers of instrumentation and caustic vocal bellows with the deeply introspective and thought-provoking lyrics that have become BURIED INSIDE's trademark. A completely enthralling album experience, Spoils of Failure is as stunning as it is unforgettable.
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Hey Buried Inside, congrats you're #4 on CHUO FM, and the band you're playing a show with (again) is #10 for LOUD music!
CHUO charts - week ending May 19 2009
CHUO FM Top 10 LOUD
1 - The Brat Attack -- Those Who Sow Sorrow Shall Reap Rage -- (Rebel Time Records) -- CC 2 - Rudeboy -- 2 -- (independent) -- CC* 3 - Mastodon -- Crack the Skye -- (Relapse Records) 4 - Buried Inside -- Spoils of Failure -- (Relapse Records) -- CC* 5 - Stepper -- Way Out -- (independent) -- CC 6 - Brutal Truth -- Evolution Through Revolution -- (Relapse Records) 7 - High Five Drive -- Fullblast -- (Fond of Life Records) -- CC 8 - The Get Down -- Dirty Power -- (Transistor 66) 9 - Kylesa -- Static Tension -- (Prost) 10 - Propagandhi -- Supporting Caste -- (Smallman) -- CC
moin, compact disc am start, mit dem kram, den wir in den letzen monaten im proberaum zusammengepackt haben. als vorgeschmack zum ersten tonträger "weg vom mehr" der song "nicht die makrele" online. schau mal vorbei gruß käfer K
Alright, you guys SERIOUSLY need to come to the south! New Orleans would be great, but if you swing thru Mobile you'll have a place to crash. Please do this!
Online Now!
