BURNING INSIDE
"Apparition"
(Pavement Europe / Crash Music)
Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter
When I heard that Richard Christy's band, Burning Inside,
was putting out a new disc titled "Apparition" I became enthralled at the prospect of hearing what Richard Christy would sound like
outside of his efforts with Archeron, Death, Control Denied, Demons & Wizards, and Iced Earth.
Turns out I got my hopes up.
"Apparition" is not bad by any means - I just thought it could be a lot more than it is. The obvious
comparisons will bring you right to most Floridian death metal bands. Little bits and pieces of
Morbid Angel and Death can be heard, but there is a touch of flavor of bands like Mercyful Fate that
creep into the mix. Burning Inside is certainly not derivative, but whether or not it is unique enough
to deserve recognition among all the death metal bands proliferating the earth is debatable.
Most of the songs start out fast and furious and continue that way through most of the verses and
choruses. Each of the songs actually has a highlight or two - these highlights are typically during
the solos when the music slows down enough so that the listener can hear the creativity that this band is capable of. The solos and backing rhythms in "Therapy" are phenomenal musical examples
of what extreme metal can be. The epics "The Fog" and "Resurrection And Revenge" are well
thought out and have some pretty neat dual-guitar work sections in each. "Gates Of Hell" has a
decent schizo-split between the brutal parts and the atmospheric bits. The
title track has a speedy, yet riff-oriented pattern that harkens to the days when thrash made its mark on the world. Burning Inside's penchant for technicality wins points from me, too.
The vocals are pretty typical of the brutal death metal genre. Jamie Prim's deep growl is mostly
shouted in a strained fashion that gives the impression of too much effort and not enough
enjoyment. But maybe that was the intention? Chuck Schuldiner always managed to sound sinister
without sounding like he was killing himself; that's not the case here. The lyrics are better than
average - although the choices of words are pretty standard the structure of the lyrics paint pictures
for the mind to go along with the musical mayhem. A few of the songs deal with the stereotypical
subject matter of death and the underworld, but a few songs deal with more heady matters like
psychic pain and turmoil.
"Apparition" is basically eight tracks with two ominous keyboard pieces tacked on for mood that
would not seem out of place on a black metal CD.
Quite frankly, as I mentioned earlier, I expected more from a project that Richard Christy would be
involved in. However, I can say that "Apparition" is something I'll be pulling off the shelf from time to
time and I'm sure it'll grow on me. It will be interesting to know what my opinions of this disc are in
one year's time.
Burning Inside is on Jamie Prim on bass and vocals, Steve Childers on guitars, Michael Estes on
bass and keyboards, and Richard Christy on drums and keyboards.
For more information visit http://www.crash-inc.com.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the
cover makes you wanna hurl.
Back to RoughEdge.com home page
Copyright © 2002 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights
reserved.
Revised: 16 Feb 2020 16:51:56 -0500.
