Cadaverous Condition-Burn Brightly Alone.

A quote in the press release by the band states “This is not just a compilation of songs for us,this is our life” and the variety of material on the 12 original songs + one cover version here hammers home that statement. Cadaverous Condition will not get on the Billboard chart with Burn Brightly Alone but that takes nothing away from the quality of the album. It twists and turns between death metal and acoustic led,almost folk metal which may seem a strange collaboration, but it works!

An example of this is the heaviness of the first 2 tracks (Ghost and Driftwood) followed by  the lighter We Knew They Were,a piano led number with spoken vocals but gets heavier throughout. Next is  the acoustic cover of  The Decemberist’s song We Both Go Down Together with the death metal growl of Wolfgang Weiss backed up by guest vocals from pop producer Mark Breyer. The crashing riffs of Alone I Will Travel take a curveball  into the electric/acoustic Wicklow Fall but with no let up in the aggressive vocals. Use Your Blood follows,another heavy number driven by a huge riff with pinch harmonics. Into My River is purely acoustic guitars but no less aggressive than the heavy tracks. The churning riffs leading into the breakneck section of Order Of The Forlorn make this probably the most extreme track on the album. The Clearing hurtles along relentlessly as well ,with some haunting sound effects for added effect. Highlight of the album for me follows,the Small Roads is acoustically led with stabs of electric guitar. Shine Unseen comes crashing in with doomy riffs and drums,another contender for heaviest song on the album. The album closes quietly with Deathless,beginning with a sublime bass intro,spoken word growls from Wolfgang,chiming acoustic guitar and a lilting piano piece concludes 50mins of the challenging music of Burn Brightly Alone,a very challenging album but a very rewarding one once it gets under your skin! Cadaverous Condition are from Austria,formed in 1990 by Wolfgang Weiss and Rene Kramer who are in the band to this  very day. Burn Brightly Alone is their 5th full studio album and is out now on Starry records.

Band members:-

Wolfgang Weiss-Vocals.

Rene Kramer-Guitars.

Peter Droneberger-Bass.

Paul Droneberger-Drums.

Track listing for Burn Brightly Alone:-

Ghost.

Driftwood.

We Knew They Were.

We Both Go Down.

Alone I Will Travel.

Wicklow Nightfall.

Use Your Blood.

Into My River.

Order Of  The Forlorn.

The Clearing.

The Small Roads.

Shine Unseen.

Deathless.

I award the album 9/10.