When it comes to showing off the more technical aspects of their sound, English death metallers Unburier really don’t waste any time. The intro to this EP’s lead track ‘Continuum’ kicks off with a time signature that constantly shifts, taking the band’s extreme heaviness away from traditional death metal roots and into the realms of a prog-death blend. It proves to be a great showcase for the band, as it really throws a spotlight onto drummer Kim Hughes as he shifts effortlessly between fierce pneumatics and heavy groove laden rhythms with ease. Dropping in a couple of unexpected stops, this really accentuates the more progressive approach taken.
Moving into the meat of the track, the twin guitars of Ben Champion and Blake Hibberd are afforded far more of a focus and they wield a classic, thrash based approach, but since the time signatures continue to remain interesting, the music lurches back and forth in a brilliantly unsettling way beneath Ben’s roar of a vocal. At this point, no matter how much focus is on the proggier aspects of the Unburier sound, those who aren’t really into any death metal will probably start to tune out. This would be a pity, as Ben and Blake also temper the heaviness elsewhere with a couple of absolutely killer lead breaks which lean a little further towards trad metal in a way that gives ‘Continuum’ more of a melodic heart – at least relatively speaking. Unburier’s brilliantly restless approach means that the end of an already great number presents even more intense sounds when the pneumatics give way to a classic thrash riff, underscoring one of the aforementioned solos, and a brief burst of deep chugging suggests the band are capable of even heavier things. There’s so much packed into these five minutes, but never in a way that makes Unburier seem in any way unfocused. These guys are tight, and if anything here catches your ear, there’s a guarantee you’ll want to keep listening.
‘Abyssal Uncertainty’ – a classic sounding thrash/death metal title, there – opens with a Slayer-esque riff before dropping into a pure grind worthy of the legendary Death, interspersed with Suffocation-like pneumatic drums. Ben’s hardcore vocal continues to be a more interesting fit than your standard death metal delivery, and with some great twin lead guitar work breaking up the heavier aspects of a complex arrangement, this quickly proves as interesting as the opener. Although the clean tones of those twin guitars stick out half a mile and become one of the most dominant features, a closer ear will uncover some great interplay between Kim (still drumming up an absolute storm) and bassist Stan Mitchell, as well as showing off how well Unburier can tackle passages of more “traditional” death metal. There’s less of a progressive feel to this track overall, but some very inventive lead guitar work ensures the performance still has some crossover potential. Everything is brilliantly played, but in terms of sheer force, the passages of purer death metal within this performance are hard to beat.
Last up, ‘Survive The Venom’ works the entire band into a frenzy, first by hammering through a groove-death blend that sounds like a call back to ‘New American Gospel’ era Lamb of God, then by leaning into their preferred progressive death sounds, but eventually arriving somewhere that shares an extreme mix of progressive metal – topped by some absolutely amazing lead work – and melodic death that manages to throw all of Unburier’s influences into a really interesting arrangement that rarely settles, yet at the same time seems insanely focused.
There are times when ‘As Time Awaits’ owes far more to a complex progressive death sound than straight up death metal, and none of the material relies on extreme death grunts in terms of vocals, so it’s unlikely to strike a chord with the purists or those who love death metal with a more retro feel. What it does, though, it does brilliantly, and the band’s desire to mix the extreme riffs with more a (relatively) melodic touch creates something that has a classic sound of its own. For the extreme metal fan with slightly broader tastes, this is a short listen that’s likely to be considered time very well spent.
February 2026
