Artist: Cemetery Urn
Country: Australia
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD
Year: 2023
It has always been somewhat of a mystery to me why a band like Cemetery Urn has never received any more attention than it has so far. The band is already some seventeen years old and has now reached its fifth full-length, all came out via the widely celebrated Hells Headbangers label and, last but not least, the band consists of (ex) members of Bestial Warlust, Abominator, Corpse Molestation and Hobbs Angel Of Death, among others, not the least names from the Australian extreme metal scene, you might say. Whatever it is, it is in no way down to the band itself, as their discography can be considered flawless without question. And so ‘Suffer The Fallen’, the latest album, has also become more than a stunner of an evil Death Metal album…
Anyone who has heard anything from the band over these past 15+ years knows that Cemetery Urn can be mentioned in the same breath as bands like Imprecation, Dead Congregation, Denouncement Pyre, Blaspherian and Funebrarum; in short, Cemetery Urn play their Death Metal the evil way. Firmly grounded in the footsteps of Morbid Angel, Immolation’s first album and especially Incantation, Cemetery Urn serves you up with their take on dark and heavy Death metal. ‘Suffer The Fallen’ is another prime example of pitch black Death Metal with stridently fast riffs and steamrolling drums, without ever going off the rails in terms of speed or chaos, moreover, they have a more than competent eye for songwriting. Nowhere does the band get bogged down in the quagmire of blubbering riffs or mere meaningless noise, everything is skilfully channeled. Add to this the ditto, powerful production and you have an album that sounds both heavy and poignant as well as raw and pitch black. Cemetery Urn demonstrates that it is definitely possible to make progress in both songwriting and the overall sound without sacrificing your musical principles at all. ‘Suffer The Fallen’ is therefore an album that proves that you can definitely stick to your basic musical principles while working on progressing in songwriting and overall sound without sacrificing relevance or vitality.
Whether the band itself experiences a lack of recognition or success is of course a second, but with a merciless album like ‘Suffer The Fallen’ under its collective belts, it should not be that Cemetery Urn remains overlooked.
