I’m not the only one for whom melodic death metal hits that sweet spot. I reviewed Buried Realm’s Embodiment of the Divine, and it did an exemplary job. That album hinted at some of the influences, specifically two of my favorite melodic death metal bands, Scar Symmetry and Soilwork, but The Dormant Darkness features Bjorn of the latter and former Scar Symmetry vocalist Christian Älvestam, as well as appearances from Gus G (Firewind), Chris Amott (Arch Enemy), Francisco Ferrini (Fleshgod Apocalypse), and others. Founder Josh Dummer just said “fuck it” and went all in.

Throughout the album, you have your Speed (not that kind) songs and your Christian (not that type) songs. I’ll start with my favorite songs from Christian, as they were the first to stand out. The one that hooked me is quite a bit into the album, which is “Jaws of the Abyss.” The symphonics/ keys build an atmosphere, and Christian’s scream shatters it. His death growls are in top shape, but the syrupy clean/growl tradeoffs in the pre-chorus took me back to the first time I heard Pitch Black Progress, and damn is the actual chorus absurdly catchy. At over 6 minutes, it’s one of the longer songs, but worth every moment. There’s a reason it took two guys to replace him in Scar Symmetry.

“Bloodline Artifice” is another Christian song, which begins the album. It’s a scorcher. I’m confident those higher registered death screeches are Josh, which are very well done. Something very subtle in a lot of tracks is the symphonic background, although I did previously mention it. If you’ve not heard Buried Realm previously, the guitar solos are excellent and prevalent, along with the riffs in general. The chorus, with a minute and a half left, is beautiful and gives way to another short, but excellent guitar lead.

Moving into the Speed songs, of which there are two, the best of those is “Where the Armless Phantoms Glide Pt.II.” The gallop is perfect for his vocals as it sounds out of the Natural Born Chaos era, matching its ferocity. The trade-off from what I presume is Josh and Bjorn works well. Surprisingly, there are no clean vocals from Bjorn on this one.

However, the first of his tracks (I pulled some Quentin Tarantino shit), “Human Code,” also doesn’t have any. Well, kind of. They’re of that shouting variety, where it’s almost singing since it’s tuneful but more aggressive. You’ll know when you hear it. The chorus is catchy regardless, and makes me think Mr. Dummer’s influence is from the previously mentioned Soilwork era. Of course, that’s the preference of most. Without the clean vocals, I’m certain you could already tell this is another banger with a heavy, fast, driving riff meant for the stage.

The new Buried Realm album is so full of bangers that it could compete with the boss’s native cuisine. If you don’t find this album enjoyable, I’ll just assume you don’t like or listen to metal. That’s fine, but you’re in the wrong place. Josh Dummer, along with his special guests, has crafted a truly special melodic death metal album that everyone should have on their playlist.

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