Dog Burial

After The Demons of Death and the sublime release called Lakes of Sacrifice, which eventually ended in my jearlist of 2006, Dead Man’s Hill is back with their hell spawn Dog Burial. Thanks too Gothronic I am fortuned to make a review of this intense and interesting Belgium act. Luckily, I won’t be disappointed with Dog Burial because like its predecessors we are treated with a powerful release containing dark bombastic neoclassical and martial music mixed with (black) metal influences. Dead Man's Hill started in 1998 with the intension of making dark and cold music, especially influenced by The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud, and early In Slaughter Natives but with a more aggressive feel by incorporating black/death metal influences. In this Dead Man’s Hill succeeds splendidly because Dog Burial sounds as a mixture of In Slaughter Natives and Puissance mixed with the atmosphere of black metal act Limbonic Art.

With titles such as Dog Burial and Where no Man can Survive you already can sense that this album is pitch black. This time the dark vocals of Piette and the harsh guitars are even more noticeable which sees to it the overall feeling is quite violent, oppressive with a gloomy and desperate undertone. Again Dead Man’s Hill manages to impress me with a powerful and high quality album. This act still is one of Belgium ’s best kept secrets.

--Erik , may 2007