This Greek band first hit my radar because of the Enshadowed connections. I was compelled to seek out the other bands those god fearing, fine upstanding members of christiandom were involved with. War, Revenge & Total Annihilation just greased the rails with christian blood for a boat launching of Scandinavian proportions. Raw nordic black metal circa 1992, another band following the tried and true path. Innovation is not on the agenda, if it were the title of this new release would not be Devotion to Unholy Creed. Not just devotion, but inspiration, and these guys are truly inspired, again. With the first full length I figured eventually skill will catch up with desire, well, eventually has arrived.

The mix is cleaner, but not clean, The vocals are louder, but still muffled, and the guitars have more crunch, but still take a back seat to the power of the drums. A quality production. Producers of raw black metal take note. The drums have a good heavy sound without being totally overbearing and  the guitar tone is quite nice. The vocals are as chaotic and contorted as ever, usually kept to a dull roar because of the mixing, but occasionally some of the higher pitched shrieks break free.

There are plenty of blastbeats for the guitarists to weave around, and despite the dominance of the drumming the music is still guitar driven, without solos and without flair. Hellhammer riffs are all one really needs anyway. The pace is mid to fast, just fast enough to appear slightly out of control, just slow enough to actually show off some quality musicianship. They even got some choir to add atmospheric hysteria, even the wailing woman puts in an appearance.

“Infernal Necromancers,” with its nice upfront bass line, sets a memorable example. The guitars provide a slowly building accompaniment, and the drumming has a bit more flair for this one. A favorite. “Gods Cutthroat” has a slow and heavy middle section with a sharp twang of the guitar, the theme of which is kept when speed picks up, and the song ends with a heavily distorted soliloquy. “Splendid Destruction” gets a nod just for the title, and I quite enjoyed the understated closing section. Cthonos exhibits more range and diversity of delivery on this song. The vocals delivered in short barks reminds of Legion of Marduk. I like the slow methodical sections and the drums are never overplayed on this song. Another favorite.

In eighteen years are we going to still be singing the praises of Burial Hordes? Unlikely they will ever achieve legendary stature, but I’ll take advantage of their time in the public eye to spread the word. Enjoy.

[Visit the band's website]

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