Burial Clouds - Burn Holy (Album Review)

Release Date: May 22nd 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Burn Holy - Tracklisting

1. Burning The Olive Tree

2. Windflower

3. Ashen Altar

4. Negations

5. Be Not Afraid

6. Screaming, Drowning Pacified

7. Forget Me Not

8. Eyes Without Light

Members

Matt Mitchell – guitar

Flynn Hargreaves – bass

Marina Lavelle – vocals

Bryce Ramsey – guitar

Tim Iserman – drums

Review

Doom/Post-Metallers Burial Clouds have gone under some significant lineup changes since their acclaimed 2023 album Last Days Of A Dying World. Only founding members Matt Mitchell (Guitar) and Flynn Hargreaves (Bass) remain from the line-up from that album. Marina Lavelle takes over the position of lead vocalist that offers a start contrast to the last album.

Bryce Ramsay (Guitars) and Tim Iserman (Drums) have joined the band as well which sees the band operate with a more powerful and beautifully dynamic sound. Burial Clouds sophomore album Burn Holy still offers a similar tone to their last album but one that leans quite heavily into the areas of Shoegaze, Post-Rock and Alt Metal with delicate experimental touches dictating the quieter moments of the album.

Opening track Burning The Olive Tree captures a band demonstrating their newly found creative energy which transforms into levels of Doom, Post-Metal, Prog Metal and Atmospheric Sludge surroundings that can be quite folk obsessive especially within how the vocals are delivered at times. However, there’s a menacing and violent quality that appears within Marina’s vocals and the brutal onslaught of down-tuned instrumental sounds that can move into areas of Thrash Metal which was a welcome surprise especially within the excellent second track of Windflower.

Burial Clouds showed influences from the likes of YOB, Mastodon, Alice In Chains and Pallbearer on their last record which you can feel instantly here but there’s a sense of grounded Post-Doom and Gothic realism within this record. Marina’s vocals are beautiful, poetic, violent and even horrifying at times when she delivers brutal screams into the mix. Sometimes you feel that there are multiple vocalists performing on this record as they all have a different flow and identity to each other. So be prepared for some extreme vocals being added along this heavy monolithic journey.

Burial Clouds move into more disturbing levels of Extreme Metal which I’m fully on board for as the record still manages to convey a hugely original style of Post-Doom, Sludge and Post-Metal that makes you questioning your own sanity at times on tracks such as: Ashen Altar, Screaming, Drowning Pacified and Eyes Without Light. However there’s still moments of pure uplifting musical brilliance that feels like it’s coming from a different band but Burial Clouds continuously surprise for the better throughout the album.

The dual vocals are another highlight which showcases a wonderfully constructed “LIGHT vs DARK” aspect to the whole album with intense outbursts of thrash metal beats and sullen Post-Metal movements that leave a lasting impression on the listener. 

Even the production values are top-notch with Burning Clouds engineering, recording and mixing the album themselves. That was a masterful decision for the band to take. As it gives them more control over their own music and it feels like a more personal record compared to their debut album. The band was mastered by the legend that is Brad Boatright at the famed Audiosiege.

Burn Holy is a complex and brilliantly daring album that Burial Clouds should rightly be proud of and one that could establish them even further within the underground scene and beyond.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Earsplit PR for the promo.

Burn Holy is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl.

Links 

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Burial Clouds - Last Days Of A Dying World (Album Review)

Release Date: May 12th 2023. Record Label: Church Road Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Last Days Of A Dying World- Tracklisting

1.Cloudsplitter 08:54

2.Beirut Shores

3.Seawall

4.Ether Fields

5.Death, Emperor

Members

Matt

Flynn

Michael

Aaron

Review

Burial Clouds were originally an instrumental band before acclaimed Actor/Musician Michael Malarkey joined their ranks. Burial Clouds sound draws upon areas of Psych, Doom, Grunge, Post-Metal with the band perhaps using bands such as ISIS, YOB, Pallbearer and Alice In Chains as a creative template.

Their debut album Last Days Of A Dying World is a dark and despairing emotionally charged collection of tracks that allows Burial Clouds to have a sense of real human warmth. Long drawn out Doom based Post-Metal passages merge into classic sounding Grunge elements with Michael’s vocals having shades of Layne Staley behind them. Though, Michael does perform heavier and harsh sounding vocals for the more brutal parts of the album which appears convincingly on outstanding opening track Cloudsplitter. 

Cloudsplitter offers a challenging and complex vision of different Post-Metal styles where the subtle use of Grunge and Doom allow the song to be both classic and contemporary sounding. The heavy sludgy grooves offer an emotional “Post-Whatever” dynamic that has an epic YOB-esque feeling. Burial Clouds stand on their own creative vision thanks to the use of distorted Sludge Metal grooves.

Second song Beirut Shores offers a more damaged perspective with the emotionally charged speech that opens the song. The stripped back guitars and Michael’s vocals have a more Alt-Rock and Shoegaze effect that makes it quite different to the opening track. More soulful and peaceful to begin with before Burial Clouds start adding the Post-Metal dynamics for a different style of heaviness. The semi-acoustic elements become more forceful and perhaps the best parts of the song. 

Third track Seawall opens with a cool sounding piano intro and traces of Spaced Out noises before bringing in a thunderous Psychedelic Sludge atmosphere to the album. The grungy element is still there but it’s buried under frantic moments of Thrash, Drone and Distorted Doom. The vocals are also more chaotic but have a sense of purpose to them. Perhaps the heaviest and aggressive track on the album which shows a different side to Burial Clouds. The second half of the song returns to the Grunge arena for vital moments of clarity.

The final two tracks of Ether Fields and “Death, Emperor” bring a more emotionally driven style of music from Burial Clouds and especially from Michael. His vocals are impressive with Michael showing different sides to his musical persona when singing clean based or the more aggressive extreme style that he uses as well. The instrumental work is intensive with this being perhaps the most DOOM based part of the album with “Death, Emperor”  being another one of the standout tracks. 

Last Days Of A Dying World is HEAVY, EPIC and EMOTIONAL as they come. Burial Clouds have created an album that delivers on all fronts. With stunning production values throughout the album, this album is packed full of beautiful emotionally charged moments with exciting heavy Doom/Post-Metal grooves from start to finish.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Justine at Church Road Records.

Last Days Of A Dying World will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Church Road Records from May 12th 2023.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram