LAZARUS BIRD

Not too long ago I picked up a friend on a Sunday afternoon. He and I share musical tastes, except for the fact that he will listen Dimmu and Cradle of Filth all day long where as I would rather listen to Opeth. But that's another story altogether. He started talking about this Burnt By The Sun split 7 inch he acquired. He said there's this band on the B-Side called Burst that's rather bad ass. I laughed and said something about their name. He said either way I should check them out. So I checked them out.

My first Burst experience was Lazarus Bird and as soon as I heard the opening riff and subsequent vocals I knew that in a very short time I would be that guy telling people they should check out Burst.

This CD is nothing short of awesome. The mix of moods during each song. The mix of clean softness, old school hardcore elements, ambiance, oddity, and their own secret blend of metal keep your senses on high alert. The ambient guitar leads throughout are beautiful and bring pictures of a dark music box pulled from a Tim Burton film, complete with the broken ballerina clicking as it spins, mixed with that which would go perfectly behind a dusty desert scene in a Robert Rodriguez movie. But then again, the beginning of We Are Dust gives you a weird 2001: A Space Oddesy lonely, distant feeling.

I'm not sure if it's the power of suggestion but at times the music on Lazarus Bird seems to in fact burst right out at you. Case and point...Cripple God. The track change from 4 to 5 gives you a moment of silence. That silence is suddenly broken by a burst of aggressive guitars and vocals. But then the clean cuts in. Clean yet still driving thanks to the bright guitar work but even more so by drummer Patrik Hultin's use of the ride cymbal keeping the pace moving. And what's with the Swedes finishing the track with little chunk of long dusty Arizona desert music? Why the hell not!

Odd as it may sound, when the sax kicks in on Nineteenhundred I instantly think of the late LeRoy Moore playing in a New Orleans jazz band. But that's just me.

(We Watched) The Silver Rain is one of the longer songs on the CD and is perfect for those who like the longer tracks on say, BTBAM's Colors disc. The length allows for tons of changes, and with each change you're almost listening to another chapter of the song. The same holds true for the disc's closing track City Cloaked.

Lazarus Bird by Burst ranks high on my personal favorites of 2008. The guitar work is terrific. At times beating you to a pulp or driving you faster and faster and at other times it's reminiscent of Yes's Steve Howe. The ambiance it gives in the clean parts and the especially during the end of City Cloaked pull emotion from deep within you. The production is spot on and at times totally isolates the bass work where it almost forces you to listen to it's beauty. The vocals...Heavy and meaty but at the same time the only way to describe Jens Kidman's range is to compare it to that which is Mr. Patton's work on such classics as Angel Dust and Mr. Bungle's self titled disc. The drumming isn't the strong point of this band but it fits perfectly. It's came and did exactly what it needed to do.

With that, the only thing left to say is...

Ever hear of Burst? You should check'em out.