Slave to Negativity (Love's Burial Ground - Forgotten Tomb)

Member Name: Burning_Darkness

Product:	Love's Burial Ground - Forgotten Tomb
Date:	14/11/09 (17 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: some excellent riffs and gradually evolving songstructures, great vocals

Disadvantages: can be meandering in places

Released in 2004, 'Love's Burial Ground' is the third and for my money best full length by Italian depressive black metal/doom band Forgotten Tomb. As before, the songs on offer mix raw, nihilistic and chaotic fast-paced black metal with despondently-melodic, doomy passages in the vein of old Katatonia, accentuated by the anguished, rasped screams and howls of vocalist Herr Morbid.

The songs are all very drawn-out and can be somewhat meandering on occasion, and the frequent, distant-sounding marching-band interludes dont help with this, although they do succeed in adding to the album's atmosphere. This disjointedness is made up for by the excellent momentum that is also frequently evident throughout however, especially on the track 'Alone', which takes its time in building up through peaks and troughs to a stunning plateau of melancholy melodic riffs, and stands as the best track the band has penned to date. The lyrics unsuprisingly deal with the usual subject matter of extreme depression, although they can be disarmingly honest on occasion, particularly on the aformentioned standout track.

Despite its faults, 'Loves Burial Ground' nevertheless remains an atmospheric mix of suicidal black metal and doom with numerous brilliant moments throughout, and is definitely worth checking out for fans of Katatonia, My Dying Bride and Mourning Dawn.

Tracklisting-

1. Malus Vivendi Part I 02:15
2. Kill Life 08:43
3. Alone 11:57
4. House of Nostalgia 13:09
5. Malus Vivendi Part II 01:04
6. Love's Burial Ground 10:55
7. Slave to Negativity 09:15
8. Forgotten Tomb MMIII 05:49
9. Malus Vivendi Part III 02:02

Total playing time 01:05:09

Summary: Forgotten Tomb's best album to date