About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

Outstanding Norwegian death-doom enhanced with traces of black metal and an overt Black Sabbath influence.



Pros

• Otherworldly atmosphere created with depth and well-thought-out layers.

Cons

• There are several filler songs, filled with generic structures and transitions.

Description

• Released September 22, 2009 on Napalm Records.
• Syrach’s third studio album.
• The band formed in 1993 near Bergen, Norway.

Guide Review - Syrach - 'A Dark Burial'

With only three releases (and several demos) in 16 years, Syrach isn’t the most prolific band out there. But as the adage goes: It‘s quality, not quantity, that counts. With A Dark Burial, however, the results are mixed. Yet setting journalistic snobbery aside, A Dark Burial’s low points are more enjoyable than the highpoints of your average death/doom outfit. Syrach is a band that deserves notice and praise.

They’ve certainly had enough time to work on their material, though, making it all the more perplexing that a couple of extended tracks on a six-song release range in quality from boring to decent-but-generic.

The slower tempo of doom metal leads to greater difficulty in creating memorable songs, generally speaking; however when Syrach puts the pedal to the metal in terms of songwriting, the results are downright inspiring, as waves of emotions wash over A Dark Burial.

Opener “Curse the Souls” reveals the black metal influence indigenous to their homeland.

And the massive, majestic leanings of My Dying Bride can be felt throughout the album at points, though it would be a fallacy to call Syrach an MDB clone. Further differentiating themselves, the album is spiked with moments of Middle Eastern mysticism.

But perhaps the most powerful moments can be traced back to the creators of doom and heavy metal itself. Indeed, the title track and finale “Ouroboros” feature moments reflecting the song “Black Sabbath” itself, replete with the distinctly quick and unspeakably evil guitar vibrato characteristic of Mr. Tony Iommi himself.

Though reference points are obvious, Syrach churn their creative energies into a unique expression that creates a powerful and almost otherworldly atmosphere.