Occult Burial – Hideous Obscure (2016)

occult burial - cover

Article by Corey M.

Overall satisfying (but not quite inspiring) straightforward songs with equal parts thrash and proto-death metal present. I don’t quite hear the “occult” sound these guys are evidently going for; their music sounds too immediate and, weirdly, fun. The band members clearly enjoy creating this music and therefore their work is free of pretense; no revivalist coat-tail riding here. Expect to hear fairly similar-sounding riffs throughout, without much in the way of dynamics. Compared to their contemporaries in bands like Nifelheim and Aura Noir, Occult Burial are competent and maybe even a step ahead of the more popular bands that mix thrash with modern metal because they aren’t impeded by gimmickry. Their lack of theatrics may work against them because they will probably continue to be overlooked until they learn to cut loose and let their imaginations run a little more wild with their songs. Compared to the more aggressive speed metal classics from Coroner and Razor, parts of Hideous Obscure are downright boring. Even playing a bit faster and cleaning up the recording could do wonders for the effectiveness of these songs. Some parts sound truly terrible. For instance, the snare drum sounds  in the words of my favorite robot puppet “like a bag of sardines thrown up against the side of a pole barn.” Nevertheless there is promise here and I would reserve more judgment until Occult Burial release a proper-sounding album or I can catch them live.

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22 thoughts on “Occult Burial – Hideous Obscure (2016)”

  1. Sucker of Dicks rim jobber of truth says:

    Hello Cory.

    I would like to ask you what is your opinion on the Russian black metal “classics”, say for instance, bands like Forest, Branikald, Ravendark???

    It seems to me like that scene has been unjustly ignored with so many albums that are on par with anything from the early Norwegian and Greek scenes.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPSAF66e08w

    1. Hell no. Forest’s good but not exceptional like the best of Norway is. Do you really think they’re comparable to Pure Holocaust and In the Nightside Eclipse?

    2. C.M. says:

      1. My name is not Cory. There is material around here from an author named Cory but he is not I.

      2. What Daniel said. Though I like a very, very little bit of Branikald material too. But that stuff has indeed been ignored justly.

  2. Poser Patrol says:

    “Proto-death” blows, not to mention its not even historically significant. Between Slayer, Hellhammer/CF, and Discharge, you already have all the necessary ingredients for death metal. All the supposedly important transitional bands I’ve heard are tuneless headache-inducing garbage.

    When Hessians form their own nation the first order of business should be ceremonially burning all music that damages the integrity of our People and Culture, including all proto-death demo cassettes.

    1. weight of truth, burden of mass says:

      Exactly right.

    2. vOddy says:

      The idea of a metalist nation is interesting, because it raises the question:

      How much of being a Hessian is genetic, and how much is memetic?
      If it is, as I unfortunately suspect, that it is to a large degree genetic, then a nation with the Hessian ideals in its culture could never exist.

      1. vOddy says:

        Well, it could exist for one generation, until it’s time to have children.
        Also, the amount of women who are Hessians is so small, that again, having children would make the culture cease to be Hessian.

        1. C.M. says:

          Women could be kept as slaves for breeding, ideally.

          1. vOddy says:

            There are things of value other than our metallic ideals (I’m assuming that we have some things in common, since music is a language and the same speeches appeal to us).

            A smith may not be able to fight, but he creates the weapons for the warrior.
            Most people, including women, are crap, I grant you that. But not all of them are, and if we condemn all of them to slavery, then we condemn the worthy women as well. Women who could have uncovered beauty in the universe through science, or who could have created beauty through painting. Or who could have been skilled at chess, or anything worthy of respect.

            Slavery removes these possibilities by taking away the freedom to grow intellectually. Instead, we should encourage humans to grow intellectually and thus gain value, and shun those who do not or can not do so by not fucking, impregnating, or respecting them. This naturally selects for a better species.

            If we relegate any group to slavery, then we select for slave nature, which is inferior. Those who can thrive in that role will do so, while those who would rather die than be slaves, will do just that, through suicide or rebellion. Thus, we create an inferior race of people. And since we breed with that race, it will also make the non slaves inferior.

            Also, some women are superior to some men, and I will never accept a system that places the inferior above the superior, through slavery. That’s even worse than the modern tendency to place the inferior on equal footing with the superior, whether it is artistic superiority, ethical or moral superiority, cultural superiority, and so on.

            1. vOddy says:

              As an example, consider that not every one in medieval Norway was a capable warrior. There was believed to be an afterlife for noble, but not violently inclined souls, as well as Valhall.
              And yet, a warrior ideal was able to exist until Christianity snuffed it out, with non warriors living with warriors and honouring them.

            2. C.M. says:

              We don’t use weapons like swords anymore. We’d need machinery to press firearms and someone who could build explosives, like traps and mines.

              Also I was being entirely facetious about keeping women as slaves. Though they ought to be selected for breeding, and denied rights in decision making and choosing who they associate with. Monogamous marriage to produce families seems to have worked well throughout human history so I would encourage supporting that model as the basic cell of society.

              I’m all for an authoritarian-meritocracy, where people of demonstrably lesser ability are kept in the lower tiers of policy and the people who succeed at difficult tasks are designated heavier responsibilities. Of course to organize something like this you need very wise and trustworthy oversight from a top authority who makes calls that can’t be vetoed.

              Is that a monarchy? Because it sounds like a monarchy.

              1. vOddy says:

                A monarchy is a reich or other system in which there is one lone ruler.

                Meritocracies don’t have to be monarchies. They can be technocratic democracies. If people can only vote on what they understand (for example voting on economic policies only after studying national economics), that is technocratic. But, if the education is open to every one and free of charge, it is also democratic. Of course, this weeds out people who are too lazy or unintelligent to learn.

                But this is not a bad thing, any more than weeding out people who can’t get a driver’s license from driving is a bad thing. It’s the exact same principle.

              2. vOddy says:

                Women should definitely get to choose their husbands, because women are, on average, better than men at choosing good mates. Men choose anything that looks good and has a vagina, regardless of how pathetic or respectable the person is (regardless of whether she carries genes that we want to select for). Women, while they choose a lot of idiots, at least base their picks on intelligence and strength, although they don’t do it well.

                1. C.M. says:

                  A top-down technocracy seems like the most robust frame for a meritocratic social hierarchy where people are truly free to rise if they have the ability.

                  Also I didn’t know about women being better at selecting mates. Considering that almost every woman I know has had on average double the relationships/sex partners than the men I know, it’s a surprise to learn this.

                  1. vOddy says:

                    Well, they are theoretically more intellectual about it, choosing it based on actual traits of the man’s nature, rather than his appearance.

                    1. hypocrite says:

                      uh…

      2. Astro Black says:

        Genetics and culture go hand in hand. Exile, liquidate, or sterilize those who can not meet the culture’s standard. The genes will follow, though it may take millennia.

        1. vOddy says:

          This is why, given enough time, islamic countries will produce inferior breeds of humans.
          They kill poets, musicians, free thinkers, and honest scientists who dare recognize facts that are incompatible with the quran. That’s not a good evolutionary environment for improving the species. It only allows cowards, submissive willing slaves, or intellectually dishonest people to live.

      3. Numbered Paragraphs and Footnotes.org says:

        “How much of being a Hessian is genetic, and how much is memetic?
        If it is, as I unfortunately suspect, that it is to a large degree genetic, then a nation with the Hessian ideals in its culture could never exist”

        A nation of autists won’t breed.

      4. Poser Patrol says:

        Honestly I think any non-milquetoast white male on the right half of the bell curve has(had?) the potential to become a Hessian if they are exposed to the right kinds of ideas and experiences.

    3. thewaters says:

      This has been tried. The problem is that Hessianism is a residual cutlure without a unique metaphysical grounding or vision. One’s primary culture, i.e., Western European, Northern African, is one’s primary identity, and metal/hessian culture is understood and expressed primarily through that vehicle whether conciously or not. However, The attempt to ground Hessian culture in Traditionalism was an interesting thought experiment about 5 or 6 years ago though.

    4. vOddy says:

      Is not Proto Death metal exactly what Celtic Frost is?

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