"Bureval" is the long overdue sophomore full-length from Canadian "anarchist metal" outfit Iskra (released on cassette by the band's own Black Raven Records), whose full-length debut was released by Profane Existence way back in 2004. Unfortunately I haven't kept up with the EP's/splits that the band has released in the interim, but if their style on the self-titled LP was anarcho/crust punk gone scorching thrash with raw black metal accents, they're now focusing entirely on the latter, and have basically become a full-on black metal band that still carries the values associated with the crust punk genre. Seriously, the explosive speeds and prevalent tremolo picking riffs herein remind me a lot of "Panzer Division Marduk", just with more feeling and lyrics that actually have some real substance. Iskra's lyrics have always been much more involved than the vast majority of bands tackling similar topics, and I'd say that content has followed the music this time out in terms of taking a slightly more aggressive turn. But that's not to say that they're dumbing things down at all, which is far from the case, as the lyrics here feel a little more abstract—as opposed to beating you over the head with an overly straightforward message. They tear through all 10 tracks in just under a half-hour, breaking up the hammering speeds quite nicely with warped midpaced breaks or slick dissonant runs that really pay off for the overall impact of the songwriting. The recording is very efficient as well, keeping things fairly rugged yet extremely clear, which really accents the subtleties of the bass runs and some fuckin' raging drumming throughout. Very cool.
This—the blood of our conscience, the blood of our cowardice. The legacy of their politic—all life degraded. The legacy of their repression has such a wide grave. A confused civil obedience wanders the streets, the official voice reflected everywhere, sour with hypocrisy. May the blood that dies for your voice every day rise up and pursue you...
LP (and possibly CD) pressings of the release are planned for the not-so-distant future, but those who are down to keep it super old school with the cassette format can go ahead and make the grab...
Comments
Awesome music!!! I hope this will be released on CD soon as this is totally ripping music!!!
11.4.2009 | By Carlos
This freaking rips. Love the female vocals. I need this.
11.4.2009 | By Scott
Not too bad. Their first record was unlistenable to me after about 10 minutes due to the unrelenting, muddled, dual vocal thing they had going on. I remember one of those guys’ voices sounded like he was screaming into an aluminum can that was being flushed down the toilet. This is a lot better vocally. Musically they’ve always been fairly intense and unhinged. They seem to have changed their line-up quite a bit cause I saw them twice and it was totally different people each time.
11.4.2009 | By Justin
Yeah, this is intense. This needs to be available on more than just cassette.
11.6.2009 | By Invisible Oranges
Thanks for the excellent recommendation Andrew. Your description is spot on- this really does sound like a crust punk-influenced black metal band, sort of a mix of World Burns to Death with Marduk. The thematic content of the majority of black metal (with the exception of certain bands like Anaal Nathrakh and the more experimental bands) has always kind of bored me, so it’s refreshing to have a band take elements of that sound and put some more thought provoking lyrical content behind it. I just wish the vocals had a little more clarity to better follow the lyrics.
Apparently the band has made this album available for free download at their Myspace site, for those who don’t have a tape player. Moshpit Tragedy Records has also posted Iskra’s debut LP available for free download (along with a bunch of other great bands, which is definitely worth picking up too, though it’s definitely more of a crust punk sound than “Bureval”.
11.7.2009 | By Howard
I need this tape.
11.7.2009 | By Birkir
Whew! This just ripped my face off. Excellent stuff, love the vocals.
Coincidentally or not, “iskra” means “spark” in a couple of South Slavic languages.
11.10.2009 | By Chris
that’s true :) and is also the name of one of the business firm in that part :)
11.11.2009 | By Carlos
Fucking fantastic record.
11.14.2009 | By Jack
Just got my cassette. This shit rules!
11.15.2009 | By shoaloah