It’s been a while since I’ve encountered a really good ‘genre-fuck’ band – a group that takes elements from several disparate genres and kind of fucks them all together into an engaging whole. To be clear, I’m not talking about those spazzcore bands like Iwrestledabearonce that sound like someone took the playlists from a scene kid’s iPhone and put them in a blender. I mean those bands that defy easy categorization because there’s just so much going on in the music.
Bury the Machines is the solo project of ex-Yakuza John E. Bomher, Jr, and there’s a whole lot of genre-fucking going on in the three epic tracks that comprise Wicked Covenant, his forthcoming EP. Post-metal, industrial, and psychedelic sludge combine with other, less easily identifiable elements with surprisingly melodic results. Unfortunately, that also makes the record kind of difficult to talk about without doing the dreaded play-by-play of the moves in each song, which makes for incredibly boring reading. I will say this, though – the most impressive thing about the record isn’t necessarily the riffs, even though there are a lot of great ones that run the gamut from serpentine to neck-wrecking. It’s actually the remarkably nuanced and varied vocal performance. Whether it’s his expressive clean vocals, growls, screams, or the really cool layered effect on “Beneath my Wrath,” Bomher is really good at sussing out exactly what style of vocal a piece of music needs and then delivering it.
I’m not sure I’ve ever quite heard a band like Bury the Machines before, but it isn’t just the novelty of the music that makes this one worth checking out. There’s a depth to the songs on Wicked Covenant that’s uncommon in heavy music that rewards the listener’s patience by revealing new layers with repeated listens, but it’s an immediately engaging listen as well. However you prefer your metal, chances are there’s something that will grab you on this record.
Wicked Covenant will be available on June 9 via Midnite Collective.
