Search - Burnt By the Sun :: Perfect Is the Enemy of the Good

To think, some people say "noise" like it's a bad thing

Wheelchair Assassin | The Great Concavity | 11/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I could say right now that "The Perfect Is The Enemy Of The Good" is the best metal album of 2003, but that would only be half the story. What would be more accurate is to say that we're talking about quite probably the best heavy album since the Dillinger Escape Plan's "Calculating Infinty," which puts this puppy in serious contention for the top ten of all time. Paradoxically enough, as the mainstream continues to get worse on an annual basis, Burnt By The Sun are among a contingent of bands helping to push the underground to ever-greater heights. BBTS's body of work, starting with their masterful debut EP, continuing through the excellent full-length debut "Soundtrack To The Personal Revolution" and now culminating here, easily puts them in the rarefied air occupied by the likes of Meshuggah, the Dillinger Escape Plan, Strapping Young Lad, and Soilent Green; that is to say, bands that can not only beat you senseless but do it in a creative and interesting manner. Perhaps the highest compliment I could pay BBTS is that while their work parellels that of the aforementioned bands, they don't really sound like any of them. Rather, the band's sound is their own creation, befitting Relapse Records's well-earned reputation for finding the most innovative and skilled heavy bands. While "The Perfect Is The Enemy Of The Good" still contains its fair share of bizarre guitar noises and jarring time signatures, over the course of their still-brief career BBTS have moved from the pure noisecore of their EP to a more "straightforward," accessible (keep in mind these are relative terms) hardcore/thrash/grind hybrid. However, fans of the band should still find plenty to enjoy here because the band's core mission hasn't changed. Their music remains as lethal and uncompromising as before; the guys have just refined their style into a more streamlined and groove-laden, but still ultra-abrasive, killing machine. This stylistic evolution is actually somewhat analogous to that of the equally mighty Strapping Young Lad in that both bands have taken the raging energy that characterized their beginning efforts and compressed it into something that is less diffuse but arguably more gut-wrenchingly brutal for it.While these guys aren't the best musicians out there, they may well be the best songwriters in all of metal right now. Each song on this album is composed with the utmost tightness, and manages the all-too-rare accomplishment of maintaining an element of unpredictability without losing focus. And at an average length of about three minutes, these tracks never overstay their welcome, or veer off into over-the-top noodling. The best song here, "Forlani," shifts gears more in its brief running time than many entire albums, but it nevers lets up in its intensity.And did I say that Burnt By The Sun aren't the best musicians out there? Well, that may be true, but they're still pretty damn good. Leading the charge is aptly described "vocal machine" Michael Olender, whose screams and growls are pure vitriol. John Adubato's guitar riffs are as heavy and precise as anything this side of Meshuggah or Soilent Green, and the mighty Dave Witte's drumming is as intricate as ever if slightly less maniacal. It's been a bit of an off-year for metal, what with many of the top bands not releasing albums, but Burnt By The Sun have definitely emerged as one the genre's leading bands with this album. If you like better-known bands like the ones mentioned above, you owe it to yourself to check these guys out. This may not be heavy music for metrosexuals a la Disturbed, Trapt, and the like, but it gets my highest recommendation for serious noise connoisseurs."

The Best CD Release of 2003

Mo Rikle | Cinccinnati, Ohio | 10/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am blown away by this CD! I didnt think anything would be able to top the self titled release by Nodes of Ranvier this year...but I was wrong. Burnt By the Sun puts out their best effort yet with Perfect Is the Enemy of the Good. The song '180 Proof' will crush your ribs with its low-end assaults. If you dont buy this CD....you are just plain retarded."

A Contradiction Of Brilliance

purerockfury | Chicago, IL | 12/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One thing is for absolute certain...Relapse Records is the most consistent metal label when it comes to producing bands that are pushing forth the heavy music genre. In every sub-genre, the bands that are spewn forth from the bowels of Relapse are destined to be met with awe. One of Relapse's best kept secrets (at least from the mainstream) to date is the almighty Burnt By The Sun, a band who succeeds where even some of their own labelmates fail miserably.To call "The Perfect" a mere follow-up to "Soundtrack" is downright insulting. All of the qualities of the prior outing are still present and in tip top form but embellishment comes in droves on "The Perfect". Whereas "Soundtrack" had its various topics of discussion cloaked in subtlety and hinted towards with quotes from various authors, people and films, "The Perfect" claims more of a running theme of being ruled by secrecy, which blends well with the utterly menacing power of the music and vocals.Musically, my favorite aspect of Burnt By The Sun latest is the how unbalanced the music sometimes appears. There are moments when you are led down one road with a almost standard rock riff but are suddenly thwarted by the neck in a jerking motion with full speed blast beat. Everything constantly plays off each other in a tennis match sort of fashion where the rhythms will jerk forth in a seemingly simplistic form while the drumming is going in seventeen different directions at once and its pulled together with spectacular cohesiveness.If you think Dillinger Escape Plan exhibits the most eclectic tendencies known to man, you haven't heard Burnt By The Sun yet. If you have heard Burnt By The Sun already and haven't heard this album yet, you are in for something really special. If you are unaware that Burnt By The Sun exists, put down the Mudvayne CD now and be prepared to experience real musical movement. You will move indeed."