Burning Season

The Burning Season are an above average Poison The Well knock off, with a noticeable appreciation for Hopesfall’s older material. While the occasional harmonised neuveau-Swedish moment pops up, this debut full-length is fairly removed from the current who-can-rip-off-Unearth-more-effectively approach — and believe it or not, it sounds considerably more inspired as a result. Consistently mid-tempo chugging with slight melodic undercurrents are occasionally countered with dreamy, comforting acoustics, while the clean singing is kept to a pleasant minimum. The instrumental moments are particularly poignant — Mike Joselyn’s higher-end shriek can grate somewhat after three or four numbers. In fact, the band is at its best during their more refined, polished moments, and it would be a bold step for the band to focus less on the mosh and explore the realms of the fret board past open-E. All further complaints are minor, as this is easily the strongest release on Hand of Hope yet, and a welcome step away from the ultra-generic fare that many young labels initially capitalise on. A promising, respectable debut.