An altar built from cadaveric ornamentation and lit via morbid invocation peers back through the haze of black candle smoke, the awakening of a long-dead spectre in response to the horrified grinding of Seattle, Washington-based death metal quartet RE-BURIED. Developed in direct refinement of their first summoning ‘Flesh Mourning‘ is a proper sophomore LP which builds upon past work with a mind for varietally engaged extremes, acts which speak to both ancient underground sensibilities and the muddier step of ‘new old school’ fare alike. The result is brief and familiar yet these folks’ve served a satisfyingly detailed full listen, taut enough to bring doom and gloom to their riff-built sound but without indulging in overbearing repetition or dryly moshable generica.

Re-Buried formed circa 2019 by way of the rhythm section of now-defunct extreme doom metal band Un alongside folks from unrelated past projects and local scenery. Their focus has been on ‘old school’ death metal inspired sounds from the start and has thus far manifested via a demo, a split and a well-received debut LP (‘Repulsive Nature‘, 2023) which I’d reviewed favorably at the time per the well-formed but not yet fully explored portal they’d opened. At the time I’d concluded: “Straddling the line between modern revisionism and staunch classicism while presenting another bright new idea within every minute that passes Re-Buried attain just enough of spectacle within this violent yet polished ride of a debut without breaking the wheel.” with appreciation for how much they’d packed into somewhat brutal, shotgunned n’ sprinting ~3-4 minute death metal pieces. Those thoughts still generally apply to their work here on album number two.

Thanks to crisped-up production values and a modified line-up this second album contrasts with the first rather than recreating it as Re-Buried generally rethink the cadence of their step, refining their overall rhythmic path and sound design. The result finds ‘Flesh Mourning‘ decidedly mid-paced, leaning into slugged-out grooves (re: “Jagged Psyche”) while still managing similarly concise statement. The assumption is that they’re going for something more doomed and barreling, particularly when greeted by the slowed, menacing crawl of opener “Obitual Illusion” and the grotesque bassline that sparks up standout “Rotted Back to Life”. The suggested Autopsy and Incantation-esque yarn found on the previous album is more readily featured here in this sense, potentially emphasized by the Earhammer Studio touch as slower and uglier movements become the main feature on this briefly shot ~half hour record. With that said you’ll find a modern ‘new old school’ touch in their sound which removes itself from pure retro idealism and indulges in breakdowns and entertaining vocal snarl (see: “Chainsaw Ritual”) briefly.

Fórn‘s Chris Pinto features as a notable new addition here, introducing his Reifert-esque havoc within in the first few seconds of ‘Flesh Mourning‘ (via opener “Obitual Illusion”) and bringing some of that hawked-out snarl back as they bump into the moshable parts of “Chainsaw Ritual” and “Pestilence Fog” later on. His more standard death metal inflection is busier, wordier in a few cases yet altogether consistent in delivery. This’d particularly stood out in mind via Side A as those first four songs allow plenty of room for inflection in frequent passing between new and ‘old school’ referential movement. Album closer “Putridity in Existence” in particular emphasizes the weirder side of Pinto‘s inflections while also featuring as one of the more consistently slow and probably best developed death-doomed mutations within. It’ll have to serve as the grand finale, too, as the album checks out right as things start to warm beyond the simmering gallop.

Though it doesn’t serve a dramatic musical evolution beyond the previous record what modulation of Re-Buried‘s modus which occurs on this second LP is a net gain overall. Hitting a very high standard for render and curation (incl. cover art via Rodrigo Pereira Salvatierra) quickly drew me into the experience yet their (mostly) typical personage and overall approachable death metal sound didn’t ring with interest outright. While the surface level appeal of their work is undeniably there per anyone seeking some manner of authentic death metal sound the anxious, hurried roll through ‘Flesh Mourning‘ still does its best work within extremes rather than mid-paced movement. The brutally slapped and doomed songs on this record stuck in mind best whereas some of the jogging, moshable stuff floated past. A moderately high recommendation.

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