When you hear the term mathcore, bands like Dillinger Escape Plan, Ion Dissonance, and The Chariot might come to mind, and for good reason; all of those bands push the genre forward but simultaneously make it a tough genre to survive in. Mathcore has the ability to scare people off because it can be so jarring and, if done wrong, it can sound like a poorly put together overly-technical piece of work. Thankfully, that isn’t the case with Burn Everything, who have been able to put out two EP’s so far, the latest of which is titled Last Run Through The Ruins.
For me, EP’s are a tricky thing. I prefer full-length albums because I feel like you get a real taste of the band from a full length, but a good four to six track EP, especially in the hardcore genres, should also suffice. Last Run Through The Ruins isn’t the longest album ever and the average track length is somewhere between two and a half to three minutes, but regardless of that fact, it doesn’t feel like it goes particularly quick. The changing tempos and well-written songs keep you interested, and it makes 17 minutes feel almost like half an hour.
Burn Everything hails from Rochester, New York and is comprised of five members; Tony Castronova on drums, Matt Dalberth on vocals, Mike Gifaldi on bass, and Damien Marinaccio and Charlie Street On guitars.
Matt’s vocals can be related to many a hardcore vocalist, but the most interesting part in my opinion are these quick spurts of spoken word that might make you wonder if Matt is a tad bit crazy; particularly on the songs “Kenny Jihad” and “Directed By David Lynch” where he screams out “˜Death holds out her arms and welcomes you in’ and “˜Oh, I’m right behind you!’ respectively. Regardless of the state of his sanity, it’s an awesome style he should definitely keep up.
The drums on this album are superb. They are one of my favorite aspects as a matter of fact. It’s all over the place in the best sense of the word. Tony manages some crazy double bass patterns with these oddly timed fills that give organized chaos a whole new meaning. They almost seem grindcore inspired at times. I was trying to pick a favorite track for drums, but the guy is really solid all throughout the album.
The guitars, as expected on a mathcore album, are chock full of crazy riffs and odd times. They work really well with the drums to keep you on your toes aurally speaking. Always shifting, and never letting you take any real break, not that you’d want to with the amount of energy you are infused with by listening to these guys.
As a matter of fact, the first five tracks don’t really ever let up. The first moment to breath comes with the last track “Crumbling Monolith” which builds up this awesome atmosphere. It continually builds through the whole track and honestly is the most different sounding song on the album, partially because it’s missing the vocals, but also because it’s the slowest most epic sounding track on this album. It almost sounds like a hardcore band doing a movie score or something. It’s really interesting and I wonder if it’s something they’ll explore more in the future or if it was just something to play with.
Overall, I was very impressed with this album, it’s one you can easily put on repeat and get something out of with each listen. It’s a must hear for any mathcore or even hardcore fan. These guys definitely have a bright future ahead of them. According to their Facebook, we can expect a new four track EP in the near future, which is great news in my book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex I'm a Film student with a passion for Metal. I enjoy most every form of metal, and I love finding new artists. I'm always open to new music!
