Bury Tomorrow: The Union of Crowns

In my various reviews, I've always tried to be open about the fact that I don't listen to a lot of metalcore. I grew up in the late 70s / early 80s and developed a taste largely for thrash, but also for the best of the bands out of England. As I got older, I kept my finger on metal's pulse (still do), but seem to have missed the impact of metalcore on the scene. Maybe it's the fact that mainstream metal in the 90s was just not as interesting as it should have been. With The Union of Crowns, however, I am learning to give it a more careful ear, even to consider that there may be more to this sound than I originally thought. I still don't consider myself a die-hard fan, but I was impressed with the overall sound and songwriting on this release. While this album still has passages that aren't quite to my liking--the inevitable triplets coming from the back end, for one--it does warrant a listen.

It helps, I think, that this album has a dominant theme running through it. I don't know if Bury Tomorrow is attempting a full-blown concept album here, but if listeners even casually scan the track listing they'll notice that every song points directly to themes of chivalry, knighthood, questing, and royal politics. In an age when shows like A Game of Thrones are giving fantasy new blood, these themes feel just right. Such themes are inherently dramatic and gives the band good reason to develop draw on the various textures that metalcore allows for. The alternating clean and dirty vocals, for example, easily highlight the beauties and dangers of something like a heroic quest or the political machinations within a fantasy world.

To my ears, many of the songs had a similar vibe to them; indeed, some of the tracks ended far too abruptly that I sometimes lost track of where I was in my listening. I'd like to be able to distinguish one song from another more completely. The very best things about this album, though, are the strong melodies than run through most of the tracks. Bury Tomorrow is unusually good at bringing out the melodic possibilities of each track; I was especially impressed with the twin-guitar harmonies that underscored some of the songs. Be sure to check out the closing track "A Curse" for a good example of the way these guys work out a melody. From start to finish The Union of Crowns is nevertheless a strong, well performed, album that gives some much needed new life to metalcore.

Track Listing:
1. Redeemer
2. The Maiden
3. Lionheart
4. Message to a King
5. An Honorable Reign
6. Knight Life
7. Royal Blood
8. Bitemarks
9. Abdication of Power
10. Kingdom
11. 1603
12. Sceptres
13. Vacant Throne
14. A Curse

Added: August 15th 2012
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
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Language: english

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