Band:	Burial In The Sky
Album:	Creatio Et Hominus
Style:	Technical death metal
Release date:	June 01, 2018
A review by:	RaduP

01. Nexus
02. Tesla
03. Nautilus' Cage
04. The Pivotal Flame
05. Psalms Of The Deviant
06. 5 Years
07. Creatio Et Hominus

If you liked the saxophone on the new Rivers Of Nihil record, know that that same saxophonist performs on this tech death album as well.

Burial In The Sky have been steadily building up to this point; with another album and an EP under their belt and with bassist and saxophonist Zack Strouse's recent appearance on River Of Nihil's Where Owls Know My Name, this could make Creatio Et Hominus a make-it-or-break-it point. Rivers Of Nihil seem to be thankful for the saxophone as their guitarist, Brody Uttley, does guest on the last track. More so than that, looking at the lineup, besides the obvious instruments and the saxophone, we can also see that piano, slide guitars, mandolins and even kalimbas are credited. Bound to be experimental, right?

Burial In The Sky have good intentions and concepts. They strive to create a branch of tech death that is more atmospheric and psychedelic and lyrics that deal with the world as perceived compared to the world as it is. But with all the instruments and good intentions mentioned, it still feels like Creatio Et Hominus doesn't really live up to what it should be. The hazy intro "Nexus" does lead up into "Tesla", but the latter is a complete let-down, disjointed and uninspired. Granted, it seems like this was the oldest song on the record but placing it in the most important position does cut the branch right under the album's feet. The album does pick up some pace after it, and the feeling is definitely less disjointed, and it feels like it has a completely different production.

The atmospherics and the harsher death metal moments don't really blend in together as seamlessly as they could, the vocal performance is fairly one-dimensional, and there are way too many fade-outs. And with Strouse in the band, not just a guest, I would've expected the saxophone to play a larger role than that of an occasional reminder of experimentation. There are moments when all elements fit together and I get the feeling that I'm being too harsh on this record, but a disjointed mess is a disjointed mess. However, noticing that the amount of mishaps considerably dropped from "Tesla" to the rest of the record, I can safely assume that their songwriting abilities will improve and that their follow-up will undo the wrongs of Creatio Et Hominus, as it would be a shame for all this potential to go to waste.

Burial In The Sky are worth keeping an eye on, as now they have the burden of following up on the promise of the potential that Creatio Et Hominus has. The make-it-or-break-it has been shifted.