Ov Sulfur – The Burden Ov Faith
Ov Sulfur – The Burden Ov Faith
Century Media
Release Date: 24/03/23
Running Time: 44:00
Review by Rory Bentley
8.5/10
I don’t know how it happened but Deathcore is back in a big way. As I noted in my Suicide Silence review, the game has changed, the genre has evolved and the bar has been raised. Former Suffokate frontman and lad with dinner plates in his ear lobes, Ricky Hoover, is now back on the scene with his new blasphemous, Blackened Symphonic Deathcore band Ov Sulfur and their debut album “The Burden Ov Faith”. Is it any good? Ov course! Fuck my life.
In all seriousness this record is an absolute treat from the moment towering opener ‘Stained In Rot’ starts kicking your head in when you smash that play button. The track has the savage grandeur of latter day Behemoth with a tremolo underpinned melodic chorus to die both for and from. The beat down and ensuing pig squeals are utterly abhorrent and that first hit of the china cymbal lets you know that you’re in for an album of biblical punishment.
Befouler, featuring the kaiju-sized roars of Slaughter to Prevail vocalist and general big beefy boy Alex Terrible, dials up the symphonic grandeur while amping up the pit-detonating riffage to a level that feels like having a fridge dashed at you by The Hulk. Remarkably the chorus is even more soaring in a rare example of something actually being heavier and more melodic in modern Metal rather than a sound bite on a lazy press release.
Of the remaining guest performers Howard Jones and Lindsay Schoolcraft make the most impactful contributions. The former lends his legendary velvet lungs to the skyscraper chorus of the otherwise relentlessly savage ‘Wide Open’ and provides a spine chilling standout moment deep into the runtime. You’d bet your left bollock/ovary that Hojo would deliver the goods like a shot of album viagra, but the former Killswitch Engage man is operating in God-mode here.
Lindsay Schoolcraft’s contribution to the title track is more subtle but no less effective, taking charge of the main hook of ‘you’re dying for nothing’ with sinister precision. Her ethereal croon is the only part of the song that isn’t delivered with vein-bursting explosiveness and provides a much needed anchor to the chaos elsewhere. Despite being 10 tracks in, the band manage to pull off the most vile beatdown section so far and some stunning lead guitar work that sounds like Brian May got a neck tattoo and started lifting.
Other album highlights include the Cradle Of Filth by way of Suicide Silence flamboyant thuggery of ‘Unraveling’, and the Eastern-tinged Epica fronted by a goblin majesty of ‘Death Ov Circumstance’. In fact if I’m honest there are no real dips and the tight runtime means that there is very little chance for the listener’s attention to wander despite every song being a variation of the Symphonic Deathcore template.
Despite being a well-worn topic in heavy music, Hoover’s anti-religious stance clearly comes from a place of personal pain and adds cohesion to the album as well as working perfectly with the high drama of the orchestral elements. Sure there are more original bands carving their own path in the Deathcore scene, but I can’t think of any who have produced such an accomplished and fully-formed debut album.
More blasphemous than drop-kicking a nun, more brees than a fromagerie, and more breakdowns than my ex-girlfriend, “The Burden Ov Faith” is anything but a burden to listen to!
“Wide Open” Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Stained In Rot
02. Befouler
03. Unraveling
04. Death Ov Circumstance
05. Earthen
06. A Path to Salvation?
07. I, Apostate
08. Wide Open
09. The Inglorious Archetype
10. The Burden Ov Faith
LINE-UP:
Ricky Hoover – vocals
Chase Wilson – guitars / vocals
Matt Janz – guitars
Ding – bass
Leviathvn – drums
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
