Upload: Extol - Burial

(Edit: whoever owned the initial image apparently couldn't stand the bandwidth requirements of a shitty blogger account. Assholes.)

The Christian music scene is, for the most part, a stale imitation of music as a whole. So-called "alternatives" to non-Christian bands (as if one could really have an alternative for classic bands like Metallica, Slayer, Death, etc.) abound in the marketplace, especially when it comes to the ever-cursed metalcore and hardcore. This is especially true considering that some fans will listen simply for the lyrics, rendering the actual substance (being the music) a moot point. In such a scene, one might pronounce any hope of a truly standout, creative band dead on arrival.

It is with great relief with which I say that the true spirit of music does occasionally poke through the muck in the Christian scene. It happened in the early nineties with Believer and Horde, and it happened in 1998 with Extol's debut, Burial. While subsequent efforts would never quite reach the peak achieved here, this album is definitely a milestone in the Christian music scene, simply for being so creative and generally not derivative.

If we were to put a specific genre on this, I would call it progressive black/death/melodic death metal. Progressive because it's got some seriously out-there songwriting and great guitarwork, black/death because it's, well, black/death. In some ways, this is pretty straightforward, but in many ways this is quite complicated. Varying synths, effects, and odd instruments (a sitar-like sound occurs on "Reflections of a Broken Soul", there are some jackhammer sounds in the title track, the list goes on) add to the songs without sounding cheesy or overbearing. The production resembles what many black metal productions should be, a mix loud and thin on drums and guitars, not too much distortion, some slight bass in the background, and growl vocals with effects unto oblivion. Speaking of vocals, the guitarist brings in his incredible range on a few songs, and it's quite classy in comparison to a lot of metal with clean vocals. It really adds to the mood, rather than falling into the "beauty and the beast" songwriting cliche (contrasting pummelling with soft parts), as they often do later in their career.

Some people say that the follow-up to this, Undeceived, is the true masterpiece. I disagree. This album never gets old, while I can hardly listen to Undeceived after hearing it straight through a few times. Undeceived is alright, but this is way better. This album broke the mold, and I don't think they'll ever get close to re-attaining the glory acheived on this album.

8.1 names that sound a lot more awesome than their meaning out of 10.

Click to download!

NOTE: The upload isn't the best quality, and it can change from song to song. That being said, if anyone out there wishes to donate a better quality upload, I would be quite appreciative.