Justin’s Review:

Man… it’s been awhile, but Burnt by the Sun are back (for a limited time only), and showing the metal/hardcore community how the fuck it’s done. If you haven’t followed the fluctuating career of these Jerseyites, Heart of Darkness is as great a place to start as it is absolute proof of their legacy to the genre we all hold dear.

In terms of sheer heaviness, Heart of Darkness easily trumps the band’s previous efforts, yet somehow doesn’t feel quite as aggressive… which I certainly don’t consider to be a bad thing. The songwriting on HoD is remarkably cohesive, and BBTS are able to deliver a rock-solid album as opposed to a collection of good songs (a feat that’s becoming all too rare these days, and one that will always win brownie-points with yours truly).

The album kicks off with Inner Station, a song that could easily be considered the exemplary BBTS track. It’s heavy, fast, aggressive, screamy, rifftastic, memorable, tough, rifftastic, spoken, screamy, heavy, galloping, heavy as fuck, and under 3 minutes long. Sound pretty awesome? It is. And there’s plenty more where that came from. The album also features a (thankfully) rerecorded version of Goliath, which was featured on the split 7″ with Car Bomb from a couple years back. Closer The Wolves are Running is another high point, with riffs on par with Spinner Dunn (God that song rules… I think I’m going to go back and listen to The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good as soon as I’m finished here). It’s also worth pointing out that fans of the band will truly appreciate the production values herein. There’s something about BBTS’s gruff ethos that simply would not work, were they being produced by Adam D or Zeuss. Instead, producer Eric Rachel delivers a fantastically coarse sound… the perfect compliment to the songs themselves.

An interesting side note (for those who are unaware)… drummer Dave Witte pulls double duty in BBTS and Municipal Waste (who also have a new… though somewhat disappointing… album out). Dave’s bands are a far-cry from one another, but the dude gets an “A for effort” when it comes to being rad (he’s like the metal Jose Freese).

Anyways… if you haven’t figured it out by now, Heart of Darkness is a must-own. And for you cheap bastards out there, a must-stream.

Justin’s Rating:

King says: “I’ve never gotten Burnt by the Sun… namely because I use SPF 666! Wait… what? Ohhhh… you meant the band… yeah, those guys rule.”

Chris’ Review:

The overall feel of Heart of Darkness strikes a nice balance between modern metal and vintage industrial shred. With songs patched together in an almost grindcore fashion, a few sections are guilty of being unnatural (“Rust (Future Primitive))” or at worst, uninteresting (“F-unit”). More to my taste, some songs stay focused and highly effective (“There Will be Blood,” “The Wolves Are Running”). Deadly precise drums, blast beats and all, guitars and bass alternately huge and surgical, and vocals deceptively complex and varied, keep the theme of ‘well balanced’ going throughout the album.

If Burnt By the Sun wanted their final album to solidify the band’s status as a unique metal voice executed with precision, Heart of Darkness delivers.

Chris’ Rating:

King says: “Come on guys, “Last album?”   I tried that several times and it didn’t help sales at all, so cut the crap.”

Have A Listen:

Burnt by the Sun – Inner Station:

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