When ‘Black Flame’ set a charge under the backside of the music industry in July 2018, catapulting Bury Tomorrow to even greater heights than before, you had to wonder how long Southampton five piece Dani (vocals) and David Winter-Bates (bass), Jason Cameron (vocals/guitar), Adam Jackson (drums) and Kristan Dawson (lead guitar/backing vocals) could keep this going. It’s rare enough for a band so heavy to hit the top 40 with an album at all, never mind three consecutive times, having previously done so with ‘Runes’ in 2014 and ‘Earthbound’ two years later.
Yet Bury Tomorrow have that nameless, yet indomitable quality that attracts fans. Something in the mix of undeniable live prowess and dogged appreciation and support for their fans. I’ve seen this band spend time greeting every waiting fan after a gig until both they and the band are getting booted out. Not only do they seem to enjoy this part as much as being on stage, it’s also clear that they know that it’s an important part of what music is for. Dani, for example has worked tirelessly to promote mental health services and provisions, working as an operations manager within the NHS and culture improvement facilitator for Q Community Initiative. He shares his efforts on social media, including Instagram and Facebook, in order to raise awareness of the message that mental health should be normalised.
Needless to say, fans have been champing at the bit to get their hands on ‘Cannibal’ after its release was delayed for three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who had bought the album on pre-release have had a painfully long wait to be fair, with their initial taste in the form of ‘The Grey (VIXI) in November last year. Single ‘Cannibal’ has been available for five long months now and ‘Choke’ was released in early February. The wait may well be worth it; album number six is the stage for cathartic release of emotions built up during Dani’s own personal experiences of struggling with his mental health. He has gone here before, but never has he addressed his pain so directly.
About being unable to escape from inner pain that can’t vocalise or explain, ‘Cannibal’ begins with now familiar third single ‘Choke’, a track brutal in both lyric and vocals, growled out with a chorus that alternates between Cameron’s clean melody and Dani’s screaming anguish. It is metalcore with the ability to rival ‘Black Flame’, thus far Bury Tomorrow’s most recognisable song. ‘Cannibal’ follows and while not lacking in aggression the pace slows a little where it should have remained. Addressing the tendency of someone who feels low to view the world as a bleak place, the cannibals are those who scavenge from us, taking whatever they can until there’s nothing left to give. Darker still, ‘The Grey (VIXI)’ restores the pace but opens the wounds deeper. The meaning of VIXI is ‘I have lived’, which suggests that this song is about standing on the edge of life and death, on the lip of the abyss. With an exceptional effort from Jackson this is another standout, as is the drum breakdown on first new track ‘Imposter’.
The most commercial chorus comes courtesy of ‘Better Below’ but lyrically we see the bearing of the soul. “Breathe in quick, hold your breath, Show the world the lie, that you’re really not sick”. The beautiful melding of lead guitars and vocals in ‘The Agonist’ makes for a memorable track that is unavoidably in your face as it tells a tale of waiting to die. As ‘The Agonist’ crashes out ‘Quake’ enters gently and builds to a crescendo before abruptly dying down again in waves of controlled aggression that has the effect of displaying both styles of lead vocal effectively. For some it may be too stop start but I feel that this one may grow into one of the best tracks here. Meanwhile, the anarchic intro to ‘Gods and Machines’ leads to an anthemic song that questions what is important to people these days.
In the latter part of the album, Bury Tomorrow begins to bare their teeth. ‘Voice and Truth’ is almost deathcore, thrashed out and interspersed with impressive lead solos from Dawson. The pace changes and switches between melodies sound natural and well produced. ‘Cold Sleep’ is about being consumed by unwanted thoughts and feelings as you try to sleep but pales in significance to the finale ‘Dark Infinite’. A thrash metal level of relentless energy concludes the album. It’s an anthem. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
If there was any criticism of this album it would possibly be the formulaic use of both vocals. Perhaps Cameron could contribute more sporadically, allowing the aggression and frustration to go unquelled now and then. Bury Tomorrow are at that stage of success where people begin to moan that they deliver what is expected. I don’t think that this is true of ‘Cannibal’. I think this album is darker than the others, generally less commercial and more direct. Yes it sounds like Bury Tomorrow, but isn’t that what you want to see, feel and hear? Bury Tomorrow is what you’re going to get and it is ‘Bury Tomorrow’, an entity that has formed from a joint effort to artistically demonstrate the raw, empty and hopeless feelings as they were experienced and written by Dani.
A good way to describe ‘Cannibal’ then is that it is a deeper, darker, heavier version of what has gone before. You can’t deny its energy or how the band groups together to deliver its message. The wait has been unquestionably worth it. In response to that question about momentum, you aren’t going to stop Bury Tomorrow any time soon.
- ‘Cannibal’ is released today (Friday 3 July). You can get your copy HERE.
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