She Must Burn – Umbra Mortis
Release Date: 14th October 2022
Label: Grey Rock Music
Genre: Symphonic Deathcore
FFO: Lorna Shore, Nail Splitter, Prince The Death.
Review By: Liam True
Opening with a dark, atmospheric, piano rainfall on Nine does seem quite cliché when you think about it, and I know what you’re thinking ‘Oh god, another power metal album that sucks balls through a straw’. Oh no, my friend. The lullaby vocals of Valis Volkova may seem like you know what’s coming, but you couldn’t be more wrong. The more the build up with her wonderful falsettos and vibrato lull you into an area you thought you knew, but as soon as Nine transitions into The Rats In The Walls, then you become immediately fucked. The growls of Kyle Lamb surprise you as the band kicks down the door and builds up the energy for you as they burst into their style of symphonic deathcore with more riffs to shake a stick at.
While they do hit their stride with the blast beats and nonsensical guitar patterns, they’re at their best when they come into the chorus with the duel vocals of Lamb & Volkova. The machine gun drumming of Steve Padley matched with the guitar work of Jack Higgs & James Threadwell with Frankie Keatings bass lines hit hard and harp as the band lead into Of Blood And Bone with more riff work and insane vocal range of Lamb hitting highs that you can only dream of. The mix of cleans and growls in deathcore isn’t really something new, but that’s always been with one vocalist. The addition of Volkova’s vocals on this record do not go unheard, as she brings balance to the otherwise destructive record.
Title track Umbra Mortis shows the speed and melodic side of the band in one clean sweep as the band create something beautiful on this track specifically. Eulogy, as the name would suggest, is a slower affair, but that does not make it any less heavy as the drums of Padley really punch through the guitar work of Higgs & Thredwell. By the name alone, Misery Eternal sounds like the soundtrack to a Dracula fight scene from a horror movie, and it sounds just like that. The horrifically brilliant vocal work by Lamb fighting against Volkova’s cleans set the scene of the battle, and the band are the backdrop to the Armageddon unfolding around. A Truer Hell really caught me off guard, as the two-minute song is more of an interlude rather than a fully-fledged song. An oddly calming piano composition that is a break from the violent deathcore alongside it.
But as Incantation, Souls Asunder & The Serpent close the album, the last three songs fall a bit flat, like they kept them for filler material, but it’s still decent, but not enough to make it interesting. And alas here we are, the end. It’s a vicious record from front to back and deserves an immeasurable amount of love and attention. And with their gig at the 02 Acadamy Islington approaching, that’ll be a gig to remember.
(3.5 / 5)
