Hype is a funny thing, and it's because of hype that I put off ever listening to Buried Inside. Most of the time, when I hear people go on and on about how good a band is, I tend to be disappointed. Well, now I'm kicking my own ass for not checking out Buried Inside sooner.
Chronoclast pushes the envelope of heavy music in ways not often heard in the underground scene. I've found it difficult to describe this album, even to myself, but "intelligent" is the first word I've come up with. This is an extremely intelligent album, but it is more of a concept than just a collection of songs. Split into ten tracks, Chronoclast was constructed as a single piece, and done so wonderfully. The listener is hog-tied, and drug through Buried Inside's twisted explanation of time, and how we are all slaves to it. The flow of this record is seamless, with some of the same riffs appearing on different tracks, which pulls this piece together even tighter.
In their own sordid way, Buried Inside have coalesced the frantic sound of Converge, the crushing drone of Cult of Luna, the progressiveness of Mastodon, and their own eerie sense of melody, to form a sound that surrounds, and threatens to pull apart the listener. There are serene moments in which you can catch your breath and enjoy the atmosphere, and it's during these moments that Buried Inside creeps up behind you, and drops a brick in your lap. The absolute heaviness of this record is only matched by its witty sense of melody. Even the most heavy aspects of this music have a hypnotic quality after beating the listener to a pulp. My favorite example of this is near the end of the record, on the track "Time as Commodity," where the drums and rhythm section pound away at your senses, while waves of melody gently hold you down. After Cult of Luna's Salvation, I thought it would be years before I heard another record with this keen sense of balance, and I'm glad to hear this record so soon.
The production, courtesy of Matt Bayles, almost leaps out of the speakers. Every single aspect of this album is crisp and powerful, without sounding over-compressed and processed. Meanwhile, the performance is so tight that it sounds like Buried Inside could have played this entire album in one take.
Bottom Line: I can't imagine the time and effort that went into this album, but the result is worth it. Buried Inside have outdone themselves and released an extremely smart, catchy, and crushing piece of music. Chronoclast demands the listener's full attention, and I can't see how anyone could not help but listen to this from beginning to end. If you are a fan of intelligent, heavy music, you absolutely must own this album. |
