Inter arma-Sky burial (2013)

Sky burial is the third record of Richmond's Inter arma and their first one with Relapse. Their first one was the very good full length Sundown in 2010, the second release was the excellent Destroyer EP. about this EP read the review I wrote, with the interview that comes with it HERE.

I said their music could evoke a colliding between Mastodon and Enslaved, and I think it's still the case for Sky burial, not because it's really close to one of these bands but more because this comparison leaves room for many different possibilities and one thing very important in their music is that they try many different things, explores many different paths. Destroyer had a lot of diversity in its song and Sky burial goes further down this road (taking two songs that were in Destroyer along the way). What do you want? Black metal aggression? Hard rocking stoner like heaviness? A dark atmosphere? Quiet acoustic moments? Melodies bordering psychedelia? Post-hardcore song structure slowly growing the song to a final epic apocalypse? You'll find all that in sky burial, and not only that. But the good thing with this record is not just the diversity, it's that the smart songwriting manage to mix all these elements without turning everything in a messy hodgepodge. It's not an accumulation of elements, it's really songs, memorable and powerful. And the quality of the execution goes with the quality of the songwriting, so it's excellent songs played with excellency (check for example the final of  the title track, sky burial, its riffing drumming madness really carries you somewhere else!).

Inter arma BC page