UMUR
"Burial" is the debut full-length studio album by Norwegian, Oslo based death/black/progressive metal act Extol. The album was released through Endtime Productions in December 1998. Extol was formed in 1993 and released the "Embraced" demo on 1996. Opinions on the band often vary greatly, as they make no attempt at concealing their Christian faith (which in the metal community is not always a popular move). It´s a red thread throughout their discography, and on "Burial" the best example of that is probably the closing track "Jesus Kom Til jorden For A Dø" ("Jesus Came to Earth to Die").
Like the case is with Satanic/occult lyrics it´s always an aquired taste if you can stomach them when they are delivered in an outspoken way like they are here, but that´s up to each listener to decide for himself/herself. Listened to with as objective ears/read by as objective eyes as possible the music and the lyrics on "Burial" are relatively well composed/written. It´s interesting to read lyrics for a song like "Superior", where Extol turns the "regular" demons mutilate/kill Jesus story on it´s head (a story and similar stories we´ve heard Satanic/blasphemous artists deliver time and time again), and the lyrics generally leave very little room for interpretation of which faith Extol have. These guys definitely kick ass in the name of the Lord (and yes the pun is intended if you´re familiar with the "Braindead (1992)" movie).
Stylistically we´re treated to a combination of black metal, technical death metal, and progressive metal, which is relatively unique. Especially considering that this is a release from 1998. The vocals predominantly belong in the black metal camp of high pitched raspy snarling, although there are also some aggressive growling vocals on the album, which are not completely unlike the vocals by Chuck Schuldiner from Death, and a couple of clean vocal sections too (which is mostly heard in the almost psalm like clean singing delivery on "Jesus Kom Til jorden For A Dø"). But "Burial" feautures a lot of technical riffs and adventurous ideas, which put it more in the death/progressive metal camp, than in the black metal ditto.
"Burial" features 12 tracks and a full playing time of 62:06 minutes, so it´s a relatively long release. Especially considering that it is a debut album. The quality of the material is consistent though, and it´s not an album which feels like it overstays its welcome. The combination of intriguing songwriting, high level musicianship (there is some really great technical playing on the album and especially the drumming by David Husvik is of a high quality) and a powerful and detailed sound production, works wonders and "Burial" is overall a very impressive debut album, which really doesn´t sound much like a debut album at all. And then again...the tracks could have been a bit more tightly contructed and Extol do on occasion venture into territories which aren´t necessarily the most effective in terms of impact on the listener, but those are minor issues and "Burial" is upon conclusion a strong debut album by Extol. A 3.5 (70%) rating is deserved.