Ares Kingdom - The Unburiable Dead

Ares Kingdom
The Unburiable Dead
2015 Nuclear War Now! Productions
For those wondering if the departure of guitarist Doug Overbay would cause any major changes in the sound of Ares Kingdom, the answer is that it has not.  At least as far as recorded music goes.  Live, I don't know if there will be a blatant hole, but it is possible.  I once had the misfortune to witness Sepultura shortly after Max Cavalera had departed and Derrick Greene joined, and it was painfully obvious that a second guitar was not present and should have been.  But AK live is another story for another day.  Right now, we have "The Unburiable Dead," and again the chaosmongers do not disappoint.  They have their sound and production dialed in, so the quality on that front is as impeccable as before.  How it is that other bands manage to fuck up this fundamental part of their recorded output is beyond me.  In this day and age, there's really no valid excuse unless it's done on purpose.  As you'd expect, Mike Miller attacks his drumkit without mercy, Chuck Keller cranks out riffs and solos as only he can, and Alex Blume... well, let's come out and say it...  Alex is a rabid beast behind the microphone.  None of this is pretty, and none of it is meant to be.  Ares Kingdom are unmistakeably metal, unapologetically metal, and unabashedly metal, with a sound and style that refuses to be categorized into anything as simplistic as black, death, blackened death, speed or thrash.  Lyrically, Ares Kingdom again go for something far more poignant than "Blargghh!  I am evil and I eat your face!" or "Satan! Satan!! Satan!!!!"  No Kansas weather reports either.  The title track especially is an excellent example, as it's not that the dead from huge battles such as those seen in World War I and II are unburiable, it's that they are in nameless graves.  Truly a failure on our part, not being able to properly honor them for their sacrifice.  Although that does sound a bit too noble.  War may have acts of courage and bravery, but noble?  I think not.  War is many things, but noble is not one of them, despite our tendency to romanticize the hell out of it rather than recognize the hell in it.