Burial (Extol album)

Burial was recorded at Børud Lydskredderi, Norway, mastered at The Mastering Room, and released on 22 December 1998. Burial was the first release by the Swedish record label Endtime Productions.

Critics and fans usually categorize the album's style as either death/black metal or simply metal because it contains elements of several subgenres of heavy metal music. The notable black metal elements on the album include the high-pitched shrieking vocals of Peter Espevoll, some black metal tremolo riffs, such as on "Innbydelse", and the slightly raw sound production. However, the album's overall atmosphere is not particularly dark or cold; on several songs the soundscape contains happy sounding elements such as the cheerful power metal vocals of the guitarist Ole Børud, creating tensions between the darker elements.

The musical output of Burial is a combination of power metal, old school death metal and traditional heavy metal, and the latter style is especially apparent on the main riff of "Renhetens Elv". Additionally, the songs contain interludes that include elements of industrial music, such as on the song "Justified", jazz and classical music, such as on the song "Tears of Bitterness". The guest musician Maria Riddervold played violin on the songs "Embraced" and "Tears of Bitterness". The musicianship on Burial is virtuoisic, taking the style a step towards technical death metal and progressive metal, technically exceptionally precise, and contains experimental, bizarre song structures. One critic wrote that the album's style "varies from extremely aggressive discharges to beautiful guitar harmonies, while the main focus relies on twisted riffs and ferocious directions."Nuopponen, Aki. [http://korroosio.fi/reviews.php?c=cd&id=1348 Extol - Burial] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927012755/http://korroosio.fi/reviews.php?c=cd&id=1348 |date=September 27, 2007 }}. Korroosio. Retrieved 2007-12-31. While most of the tracks are in English, three songs are written in Norwegian; "Renhetens Elv" ("The River of Purity"), "Innbydelse" ("Invitation"), and "Jesus Kom Til Jorden For Å Dø" ("Jesus Came to World to Die").The last, a hymn-like, doom metal-esque and folkish piece, is a cover of a 1976 song by Arnold Børud,{{Cite web |last=Cantwell |first=Alex |date=July 7, 1999 |title=CoC : Extol : Interview : 7/7/1999 |url=http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/articles.aspx?id=1-242 |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=Chronicles of Chaos}} who arranged this version of the song and played the organ.

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = Allmusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev2 = Cross Rhythms

| rev2score = {{rating|10|10}}{{cite journal | url = http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/products/Extol/Burial/13470/ | title = Burial review | last = Figgis | first = Alex | journal = Cross Rhythms | date = 1999-04-01 | access-date = 2009-09-30 |issue=50 }}

| rev3 = The Phantom TollBooth

| rev3score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web |last1=Harper |first1=Glenn |title=Burial |url=http://www.tollbooth.org/review99/extol.html |website=The Phantom Tollbooth |access-date=18 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126131905/http://www.tollbooth.org/review99/extol.html |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |date=17 February 1999 |url-status=dead}}

| rev4 = RoughEdge.com

| rev4score = 3.5/4

}}

During the time Burial was released, Extol was described as Norway's second best band by the Norwegian magazine Scream. The album was considered by Mike DaRonco of AllMusic to be a breath of fresh air in the death and black metal genres that had run stale for years. Glenn Harper of The Phantom Tollbooth was critical of the album's production quality and some of the poor grammar in the English-language songs, but considered the album "one of the most refreshingly original Christian metal albums I've ever heard." Mike SOS from RoughEdge.com rated the album three-and-a-half out of four, writing that "if you haven't ever heard them I invite you to give them a shot, I think you will be impressed."{{Cite web |last=Mike SOS |title=Extol CD Reviews - Burial |url=http://www.roughedge.com/cdreviews/e/extol.htm |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=RoughEdge.com}}

{{track listing

| all_writing = Extol, except for "Jesus Kom Til Jorden For Å Dø" which is written by Arnold Børud.

| title1 = Into Another Dimension

| length1 = 1:28

| note1 = instrumental

| title2 = Celestial Completion

| length2 = 6:14

| title3 = Burial

| length3 = 4:49

| title4 = Renhetens Elv

| length4 = 6:24

| title5 = Superior

| length5 = 5:08

| title6 = Reflections of a Broken Soul

| length6 = 7:28

| title7 = Justified

| length7 = 5:22

| title8 = Embraced

| length8 = 3:41

| title9 = Innbydelse

| length9 = 4:58

| title10 = Tears of Bitterness

| length10 = 7:27

| title11 = Work of Art

| length11 = 5:19

| title12 = Jesus Kom Til Jorden For Å Dø

| length12 = 3:47

| total_length = 62:08

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Japanese edition

| title13 = The Prodigal Son

| length13 = 6:05

| total_length = 68:13

}}

;Extol

• Peter Espevoll – vocals
• Ole Børud – guitar, vocals
• Christer Espevoll – guitar
• Eystein Holm – bass guitar
• David Husvik – drums, backing vocals

;Additional musicians

• Arnold Børud – keyboards
• Maria Riddervold – violins on "Embraced" and "Tears of Bitterness"

{{reflist|2}}

{{Extol}}

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Category:1998 albums

Category:Extol albums

Category:Unblack metal albums

Category:Solid State Records albums