Burial Hex “Gauze”

Cold Spring

Almost immediately, distorted screeches erupt over baroque strings. Far beyond the posturing of black metal, this is true magic with a very tactile grandeur. ‘Gauze’ is an ideal gateway to the worlds of Burial Hex and, like everything on Cold Spring, it sounds fantastic. Every bombastic howl and shimmering prayer bowl are as vivid as if we were deep in the catacombs with Burial Hex, experiencing this unfold right next to them.

From that harrowing majesty of the opening salvo, crawl propulsive, all-consuming beats that sweep up snarls and barks and pleading song. This hypnotic ecstasy carries the listener into it; it is impossible to stray from the path.

It is this deep, spiritual knowledge of dub and the power of the electronic beat that elevates Burial Hex above any run-of-the-mill post-industrial ritual music. Theirs is a far more potent palette than a few reverb-soaked drums and hoarse yodelling. Here, the ritual is key, and Burial Hex have the compositional skill and are adept enough to follow it right through. Rousing folk, exquisitely frenzied trance, tender melodies, and harrowing screams are all incorporated as/when required. Nothing is out of place; all things are in balance.

There is a very real overarching journey and narrative flow through ‘Gauze’. When the choral section ignites on Sed Libera Nos A Malo, offset by the scratched, looping incantation, as if off a broken gramophone, it feels like actual transcendence is in reach.

The act of listening feels like a cleansing. This is a true treasure of an album.

The linear notes say this can “be effective for anyone who needs an extra layer of defense”, in these days of constant turmoil, can you really risk not buying this?

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