Review by JD on January 27, 2009.

German headbangers Burden Of Life had came out with an album that some said would be a very damned good one... and yet I found myself caught in the middle of liking this album to a greater extent, and passing it off as something that is average or below. It really does makes reviewing the band rather... complicated at best.

Hard, heavy and full of angst, BOF does seem to really have it all. They have some very complex rhythms, above average lyrical content and very clearly some real great musicians in the band , also have a great person producing the album... but the flip side if it was I felt somewhat uninspired and flat at the same time. Same band, same music.

I dunno what it is there that makes this so damned hard to decide... after five complete listens to the album over two days, I come back to the same place with it that I had been the first listen. I hear some very interesting lyrics throughout and there is more than enough amazing guitar work that blazes through out the disk... but it just come to me as almost being listless. It feels to me as if the band was just going through their paces while they were recording the album.

Perhaps it is my own mindspace while I review it... possibly I see something in there that is not right in how it was made or recorded. What ever it is, I have to say that while I hear what I do through out 'Ashes of Existence'... is not really a bad album, but perhaps somehow it had been misguided along the way... or it is just me who might be misguided with the album? Dunno on that one.. All I can give, is the truth... I owe that to Burden Of Life.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 6
Production: 7
Originality: 5
Overall: 6

Rating: 6.4 out of 10