BURST — Origo (review)

Album · 2005 · Hardcore Punk

5/5 · 2020-01-12
UMUR

"Origo" is the 4th full-length studio album by Swedish progressive post-hardcore act Burst. The album was released through Relapse Records in October 2005. It´s the successor to "Prey on Life" from 2003 and features the exact same lineup who recorded the predecessor. "Prey on Life (2003)" saw Burst signing to Relapse Records, after releasing their first two albums on a smaller label, and they generally received a lot of posititive feedback from fans and critics alike.

Stylistically the music on "Prey on Life (2003)" was progressive post-hardcore, which is both aggressive and adventurous in nature, and the basis is the same on "Origo" although it´s overall a relatively different sounding album to it´s predecessor. Linus Jägerskog´s aggressive shouting hardcore vocals are still the main vocal style, but a few more clean vocal sections have been incorporated to the material on "Origo", and it´s overall a more melodic and varied release than "Prey on Life (2003)". Heavy progressive tracks like "Sever" and "Flight´s End" are complimented by faster and more aggressive tracks like "Slave Emotion" and "Stormwielder", and Burst even venture into instrumental post-rock territory on "It Comes Into View", which is a nicely atmospheric track.

In the case of "Origo" it´s not really fair to only mention specific tracks though, as the album is cleverly constructed to be a collective listening experience. Great care has been taken to place the songs on the tracklist to create the right atmosphere or emotion at the right time and it´s a praise worthy effort which pays off in the end, when the listener is left with a feeling of having listened to a journey of creative musical ideas, which comes together as a perfect whole (not completely unlike how "Prey on Life (2003)" is also constructed).

Although the basis of the band´s music is predominantly made up of two guitars, bass, drums, and vocals, Burst have opted to include atmospheric keyboards to the music. The keyboards are generally used tastefully and only for effect, so it´s not an omnipresent dominant feature. "Origo" features a powerful, clear, and detailed sound production, which suits the material perfectly, and we´re also treated to high class musicianship from all involved, so upon conclusion this is a high quality album release by Burst. There´s not a single negative thing I can say about "Origo" and a 5 star (100%) rating is fully deserved.

more than 2 years ago
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UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

It´s been some years since I last gave "Lazarus Bird" a listen, but I actually wasn´t particularly thrilled about it as far as I remember. I much prefer "Prey on Life" and "Origo". I think I have a review of Lazarus Bird posted on PA, but I´ll give it a listen sometime and re-write it. Maybe it´ll have grown on me over time.