REVIEW: Bury Tomorrow - Cannibal

The 6th album from English torch bearers of Metalcore transports you straight back to 2006.

The tone of the album is established unambiguously by the opener Choke, a rampant, energetic entree of textbook metalcore with savage snarled verses, thudding riffs, and a soaring, memorable cleanly sung chorus. It is a high-octane start and a certain addition to the live repertoire and so, most likely, will second song Cannibal which continues with the same structure albeit a slightly slower pace.

The rest of the album is consistent with memorable, circle pit additions like the juddering Imposter and The Agonist and Gods and Machines while Quake simply delivers by reversing the interplay of screamed verses and sung choruses.

Much of Cannibal is redolent of the mid-2000s high tide mark of metalcore. There is little deviation from the familiar blueprint of snarled gruff verses with soaring melodic clean choruses, with obligatory circle-pit friendly breakdowns and emotional introspection inspired by mental health themes.

Stylistic progression, however, does not seem to have been the intention of Cannibal. Instead Bury Tomorrow have persisted with a very conventional formula with energy, tightness, and sincerity. Despite standard song structures, the quality tunes and conviction arguably make this one of their strongest releases.