While literature and film often employ thematic elements and foreshadowing, it’s quite rare to find such concepts in the world of metal. With Spoils of Failure, Buried Inside do so, and (once again) deliver a sludgy opus magnum.

Frivolous “Neur-Isis” comparisons aside, (and whether it’s intentional or not) Buried Inside do a great job of exploring traits primarily found in the world of classical music. Whereas 2005’s time-inspired Chronoclast explored variations on a single theme (à la La Valse), Spoils of Failure breaks down into what can only be described as a series of suites, strung together by a singular idea (Ballet Deviare take note). This may be boring as fuck to some people, but I find it a breath of fresh air in a genre that all too often falls victim to true repetitiveness.

In keeping with the Maurice Ravel references, the album’s opener “I” is basically the metal equivalent of Boléro. Starting off with a single droning guitar, the song builds eloquently for the next six and a half minutes, finally breaking down and giving the listener a moment to reflect before moving on.

While “III,” “VII,” and “VIII” employ a nice range of dynamics, and “V” churns out the monster riffs, it’s the layered guitar interplay and spacey, repetitious leads that really stand out and make Spoils of Failure an exciting listen. Both brooding and beautiful, this is “Thinking Man’s Metal” at its best.

Justin’s Rating:

King says: “In the words of the late, great Kyuss… ‘Listen Without Distraction.’ ”

Chris’ Review:

A predictable to response to Justin’s accurate review would be, “But does it rock?” and the answer is an unqualified “Sometimes.”

The grand themes of the album are easy to miss if you don’t follow the listening instructions, but, like Buried Inside’s previous album Chronoclast, something subtle tells you this band is on the right side of this genre’s fine line between interesting music and boring sludge.

If you’ve got the 53 minutes to invest, Spoils of Failure may reward you with its grand vision, but taken in smaller pieces, the aforementioned subtleties are enjoyable on any track. Guitar interplay is surely this band’s special contribution to the genre. Songs will often build a feeling tension before resolving to a synchronized, bombastic chugging riff which could get real cheesy real fast, but somehow Buried Inside gets it just right every time. One unusual example being the closing to the song “V” (the title track?) which actually fades out. However, it fades on the biggest, badass chord progression and lead guitar riff of the album, or of hundreds of albums for that matter. How else you would close such a song is unthinkable. If they don’t close their live set with this song, what the hell do they follow it with? I can’t wait to find out. Finally, Buried Inside is not afraid to mix tempos. Thinking metal it may be, but post-rock with distortion it is not.

So perhaps complaining that Buried Inside does not always “rock” is like complaining that AC/DC lacks complexity. It would be similarly unfair to say that if you don’t like Spoils of Failure, you just don’t get it. A lot of people don’t listen to metal for sublime complexity.

Chris’ Rating:

King says: “Old, dead European guys know complex music. Me, for example.”