Burnt By The Sun

Burnt By The Sun continues to taunt, tease and tantalise with this barely eight-and-a-half minute EP of full-throttled technical terrorism. As if their Ferret Records split with fellow New Jersey metal theorists Luddite Clone wasn't warning enough of the musical air-strike BBTS could summon at will, this EP builds upon that imposing base and poses the question: can even the staunchest listener withstand a full-length of this glorious onslaught? The Dillinger Escape Plan is a convenient and somewhat accurate comparison, as is one of drum god Dave Witte's former bands, Human Remains, but Burnt By The Sun is more metal than the former and more commanding than the latter. It's a cacophony of discordant riffs, noise conflicting with unbelievably technical playing, precision drumming, grind mayhem, a non-stop metallic battering and vocals devoid of any sort of melody, simply content to corrode. "Buffy" sets the pace, obliterating all in its path, followed by their Contamination 3.0 contribution "You Will Move," possibly BBTS's best track, as it incorporates a vocal hook and some repetitive riffing that would only serve to temper BBTS's musical abuse to even more terrifying levels if more fully explored. "Lizard Skin Barbie" and "The Fish Under The Sea Dance" complete this four-song bombardment in much the same way it began, without a moment's respite. Few bands can deliver such a challenge to "extreme" music with barely seven total songs in circulation, but few can even be measured against Burnt By The Sun, let alone withstand them.