Album Review: Burial Tree - The Power of Myth
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
If you want something that is straight forward and easy to listen to, then please avoid this album. I’ve played it several times now, and each time I hear something different, something new, something unique that excites and astounds me, this is complex yet so satisfying.
Burial Tree is the brainchild of Monte Cimino, an artist from the Bay Area, and formed back in 2009, but with ideas spawning out during the pandemic, he’s decided to take this fresh batch of compositions and revive the band. Armed with 3 new songs, all epic in length, “The Power of Myth” was created, and will satisfy anyone’s thirst for heavy post-rock/metal that’s tinged with experimental ambient notes.
It’s a mesmerising album, that has a cacophony of clatters and crashes, jingles and jangles, as the album looks at “society’s disarray and disillusion”. It begins with “Sigils”. The element of surprise is constantly there, as the sounds meander around your brain at will. Accompanied by bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Adam McClure, I’m not sure where the composed sections begin and the improvised sections end. They are so intertwined into the musical landscape and are both powerful and all-consuming in their approach to what is happening around them.
With the god like genius that is Dave Lombardo joining them on the second track “Veve” this has a slightly more sinister aura with the electronic soundscape in the background. Your head won’t know which way to turn, as it goes from evil to this huge, bellowing noise being created and then you are confronted by saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum, who takes the song to another level of depravity. It settles, and flows beautifully after this, with the energy being palpable, and yet you are still only halfway through the song!!!
With elements of jazz, rock and sludge being improvised, Cimino has set no limits or boundaries to the music, and the experiment is audible to all. As I’ve stated above, this isn’t an easy listen, as you are on edge, and you wonder what is going to happen next, but that is majorly appealing to me. With the album title track bringing up the rear, “The Power of Myth” is a 15-minute look into the minds of Cimino and Laswell, as they take bass and effects to new levels, manipulating and enhancing the audio, to add more depth and texture.
It’s a slow build up, like you are stepping into a fog induced world, with noises swirling all around, as you fight to stay on your chosen path. But this takes an unexpected turn, as it doesn’t alter or deviate much from the sedentary pace that they’ve chosen. It gets a bit more psychedelic in parts and about two thirds of the way through, you get a new set of landscapes added to enrich the atmosphere. By the end, you’ll sit back and wonder WTF was that all about, and then press play again to find out more.
