Bury Tomorrow was, according to their MySpace page, “formed in 2006 when a freak Nuclear spill contaminated Adam Jackson giving him superhuman drumming skills thus becoming known only as ‘El Metronome’.” After recruiting a suitable crew of miscreants that shared his same wicked desire to pour onto the world an onslaught of metal mayhem, Bury Tomorrow, the metal core quintet out of the UK, was born. Their new album Portraits, under the UK label Basick Records, is nothing short of a bloody, knuckle-breaking masterpiece. In a sea of mindless, mediocre metal, Bury Tomorrow could possibly be setting a bar than many will struggle to live up to.

Prepare yourselves ladies and gents, because this album will blast your eardrums right out of your head. After experiencing what can only be described as a musical mind rape, I feel grateful that this record worked itself into my living room. This album has a momentum that just does not let up. As I made my way through the songs, I made mental notes of how much I enjoyed each one, only to discover the next track was just as good.

The opener “Confessions” comes out like an angry bull looking for blood. The first thing that caught my ear were the vocals. I will be the first to say that I am not a fan of the deep, grunt-like scream that you hear in most metal music, and that can really turn me away from a band. I like a singer with range, a wicked scream and a decent voice to match. The vocals on this album are spot on. Between the singing and battle cries, it won’t take much to make you curl up into the fetal position and go right into your happy place. It’s that back and forth between the growling and serenading that immediately sucked me in. One of the best qualities in this CD is how these songs flow together so well. It’s almost as though you feel like you are experiencing Bury Tomorrow, rather than just listening to them.

Every song on the album is worth listening to, but there are a few worthy of being pointed out. “Factory Of Embers” is a catchy little tune with a great vocal line and well timed breakdowns that will make you want to stomp around your living room and break things. The guitar riffs are punishing, yet melodic; and the drums compliment the technicality of those guitars beautifully. Another great song, “Her Bones In The Sand,” comes at you like a shotgun blast to the face, but oh how good it feels. This song will literally rip a whole in your chest, and then fill up that void with all kinds of metal goodness. It has just enough face melting to leave a mark and a catchy chorus that will surely have you coming back for more. This is a great song and definitely my favorite off of the record.

Coming in a strong second, though, is their closer “Portraits.” This song has much more ambiance than the rest, with a lot of melody that really gives Jason a chance to show of his range. This song embodies everything we have grown to love about these guys throughout the entire CD. You get double teamed by some great guitar riffs, and Mr. Jackson keeps the rhythm going flawlessly with no mercy.

Overall this record is, in my eyes, a metal masterpiece. Amidst the brutality and chaos, there is beauty in their music that engulfs the listener and intoxicates them. Collectively, Bury Tomorrow exhibits a quality that so many artists attempt to obtain, but so many fail to possess. I suppose I could compare this record to early Atreyu and maybe Bullet For My Valentine, but Bury Tomorrow seems to have all of the qualities their music was lacking. This is definitely a record worth buying. When all is said and done this record will not disappoint and belongs in every metalhead’s collection. Don’t miss! Two thumbs up!

5.0/5