Pyre - Chained to Ossuaries (2020)

Chained to Ossuaries came after a six year period from Human Hecatomb, so it makes sense that there's been a little evolution in the Pyre sound. They weren't completely absent, having participated on a few split EPs with Chile's Corpsehammer and Sweden's Interment, and the changes here are no less old school than the raw tones they were emitting in their earlier works. In fact, the guitar tone is pretty much intact, but the mix of the record is a little darker and cleaner, so it's got a more controlled and clinical vibe to it. Nevertheless, they sound no less evil, because the riffs here are just cruise control, grim tremolo picking sequences that perfectly blossom into the dark chord patterns, with solid leads and melodies placed exactly where they need to be, and a lot more confidence that doesn't need to chainsaw your face like the last album.

That's not to say your face is safe, mind you, because this shit still delivers, just on a slightly deeper, more cerebral level. Where Human Hecatomb might resemble a zombie outbreak at your local potter's field, Chained to Ossuaries is more like a cabal of necromancers meeting there in the evenings. It's invariably old sounding death metal, without much nuance beyond the early 90s, so to that extent nobody familiar with the previous album is going to be disappointed. There's a bit more of early Death in a lot of the chord choices in places like "Ornaments of Bones" or "Wreath of Crucifix", but that fleshier and meatier guitar tone twists it into something different, but you could certainly envision breakdowns from Leprosy arriving at almost any juncture on a lot of these songs. The vocals are also a little different than before, he's got less of a skin shredding tone to him and a bit more blunt brutality, compacting those emphatic John Tardy-like growls to something meshed a little better into the dark tone of the instruments. Basically he's a little less out of control, and the riffing itself compensates with a lot bolder chords and melodies.

Another great album, just inching past Human Hecatomb, although if I wanted the grislier listen then I would happily trade them off. This is more of an escape, neither as ripping or brazen but a lot more mature, a direction that the band will continue forth in the future. Definitely good enough that the band should have appeared on a lot more radars, but this sort of meat & potatoes, well crafted death metal often struggles to get noticed since it's not as technical or progressive as others in the field. Never really a clone of anything, but wearing most of its influences on its sleeve, Chained to Ossuaries is just another fine example of its genre sitting among the dust, waiting to be discovered.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://pyredeathmetal.bandcamp.com/