{"id":66352,"date":"2018-01-01T00:00:54","date_gmt":"2018-01-01T00:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=66352"},"modified":"2018-02-21T12:49:14","modified_gmt":"2018-02-21T12:49:14","slug":"album-review-bestialord-law-of-the-burning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-bestialord-law-of-the-burning\/","title":{"rendered":"BESTIALORD – Law Of The Burning (2018) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

BESTIALORD
Law Of The Burning<\/strong><\/span>
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\nSymbol Of Domination \/ Cimmerian Shade Recordings (2018)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Ah, the joyous creaks and aches of doom metal. Only this time those mournful moans come from Wichita, Kansas-based Bestialord; a trio who formed only two years ago. So, let\u2019s say hello then to former Manilla Road bassist Mark Anderson (vocals and guitar), Rob Harris (bass) and Chris Johnson (drums).<\/p>\n

We\u2019re welcomed by some cool artwork depicting a hooded soul roaming an eerie cemetery and armed with book, seemingly conjuring up all manner of denizens under a creepy sky. And thankfully the music on offer provides a great soundtrack to the art as the band lunges into a sinister plod of utmost horror.<\/p>\n

But this isn\u2019t traditional doom metal, far from it in fact. Bestialord conjure up a frightful plod of a sound given an extra dash of evil coating by Anderson\u2019s rather rough sneers. The music behind him is as pitch as midnight, as the band prowls its way through some rather simplistic but most certainly engaging doomy designs that flirt with death and black metal nuances to create an atmospheric soundscape of impending gloom.<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018The Doom That Came\u2019 marches like an eerie funeral procession; a standard stormy chug leads us into a faster segment of dread before Anderson\u2019s murky yelps begin their grim narration. It\u2019s excellent stuff, played with true antiquarian style and dripping in horror \u2013 imagine one tip-toeing through some vast array of dusty catacombs unknowingly pursued by some hidden terror. Damn, I can smell the mustiness of it all as the skies rings out with thunder \u2013 or maybe that\u2019s just the bellowing grotesquery provided by Johnson\u2019s oaken drums? Leads fizz about the place like snaking ivy reaching for the ankles, but again the pace quickens like a horror score about to reach terror point.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s with \u2018Vermin\u2019 \u2013 my favourite track \u2013 that Bestialord really comes into its own. Again, we have that suspenseful trudge, and all sorts of Gothic images are evoked as the drums simmer and then the riffs come chugging in, with Anderson\u2019s growls taking us down into the underworld beneath the graveyard; a place where Harris\u2019 bass trembles and the echoes of lost, trapped souls ring out to give extra chill to the singer\u2019s call. \u201cDie! Vermin!\u201d<\/em> bellows Anderson; his gravelly tones reeking of earth as his guitar tones bounce of the coffin walls and reverberate.<\/p>\n

In a perfect world of misery, Bestialord somehow play as the younger sister to Eric Wagner\u2019s The Skull and Blackfinger. But believe me, you probably won\u2019t find a better doom metal record this year other than Druid Lord\u2019s mossy death \/ doom outburst Grotesque Offerings<\/em><\/a>. And it\u2019s those vocals and downright chilling structures which set this record apart. The faster tempo of \u2018All Fall Down\u2019 brings with it a swirling solo amidst the suffocating darkness and a general accessible groove mesmerising enough to entice you into the grave. And yet while I continue to use the doom metal tag, you\u2019ll find that as the album flows you\u2019ll find yourself looking to categorise the opus by other means; the blackened riffs, the snarling vocals just aren\u2019t your standard doom metal ingredients.<\/p>\n

The title track hints at a thrashiness before yawning like some gargantuan beast, bringing together a Bathory sort of eeriness coupled with Candlemass, only unlike neither. Meanwhile, \u2018I Am Pain\u2019 sees Anderson take on the role of chief cenobite as he welcomes us to Hell, and has such sights to show us as the drums and bass rattle like the very chains cast around your neck.<\/p>\n

\u2018Above The Vaulted Sky\u2019 aches of 80s Gothicness; a truly lo-fi plodder that speaks of the \u201cCountess in red, amidst adoring eyes. Mistress of death, walking the graves by night\u201d<\/em>. It doesn\u2019t get much more atmospheric than this shuffling marauder; an eerie visitation to midnight black mass if ever there was one as Anderson paints grisly images of all manner of horrors.<\/p>\n

And as the bell chimes to bring in closing track \u2018What Is The End\u2019, I can only sell my soul to this cult of doom; rendered insane and terrified am I by this trudging yet fruitful work of terror.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BESTIALORDLaw Of The Burning Symbol Of Domination \/ Cimmerian Shade Recordings (2018)Rating: 8\/10 Ah, the joyous creaks and aches of doom metal. Only this time those mournful moans come from Wichita, Kansas-based Bestialord; a trio who formed only two years ago. So, let\u2019s say hello then to former Manilla Road bassist Mark Anderson (vocals and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,3844],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-bestialord"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66352"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66354,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66352\/revisions\/66354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}