Metal has never sounded better than it does on the new BLOODRED HOURGLASS album, “We Should Be Buried Like This.” The Finnish modern metal outfit have leveled up superbly in the last few years, releasing the well-received “How’s the Heart?” in 2023 and touring across Europe with such powerhouse bands like THE HALO EFFECT and PAIN. This fall – on October 3rd, 2025, to be more precise – they will release their seventh studio album, “We Should Be Buried Like This,” through Out of Line Music.
There’s a great balance of melody and aggression that makes “We Should Be Buried Like This” an intense listening experience, more intense than even “How’s the Heart?” was. Everything from the guitar melodies to the vocal lines and the pulsing rhythm section only highlights the raw and aggressive sound design the band implemented on this album. The fact that there is basically no clean singing on these songs also helps drive home this idea of a truly heavy and aggressive album, yet with great underlying melodies. That being said, there are some clean vocals (both male and female) scattered throughout that act more as layers of harmony than main vocal melodies, which add depth and richness to the songs while also softening a bit the sharp guitar riffs or growled vocals. Moreover, it flows incredibly well from start to finish, and even though it feels a bit linear because sound-wise most of the songs follow the same formula, I am not even mad about it, seeing as how the individual tracks are so well-crafted. This goes to show how well-honed and on-point the band’s technicality and songcraft are.
The four singles released in anticipation of this album – which also happen to be the opening quartet of the album – can all be described using adjectives like heavy, melodic, groovy, energetic, and/or intense. In fact, the ten tracks can be described using a combination of these very adjectives, hence the fact that the album feels linear. Yet there are many subtle differences between them, that either have to do with how catchy or intense the melodies are, or how Jaredi Koukonen switches between his various distorted vocals (harsh, screams, growls, gutturals), or how other elements (like keys and synths) are used to either soften the soundscape or make the song feel heftier and more energetic. Talking specifically about the songs now, I still have the melodies and chorus to “Chasing Shadows” stuck in my brain, while Sofia Ricar‘s ethereal vocals from “Royally Done” still haunt me because of how beautiful they are, and how wonderfully they are integrated in the music, a perfect counterpoint to Koukonen’s vocal onslaught. The intense rhythm and groove of “The Crown Is Permanent” lend themselves perfectly to a healthy and hearty headbanging session, neatly complementing the sing-along-ish chorus, all the while the title track rides high on its tight instrumental side and strong melodies.
Elsewhere on the album, “Dance of the Dandelions” is a highlight for me because of how intense and aggravating the chorus sounds while Koukonen’s fierce vocal onslaught continues as he effortlessly switches between harsh vocals and deep gutturals during this track, and the backing synths try to soften the soundscape a bit. The ominous and synth-driven ethereal opening to “God Has Favourites” almost tricked me into believing this to be a mellow song of sorts but all that came crashing down when the thumping drums and growled vocals took over and the track finally settled into a punishing rhythm carried by a melodic guitar riff, thundering bass, and backing synth that allow for the chorus to soar, driven by Koukonen‘s harsh vocals. Honestly, he’s the MVP of this album as a big part of its raw and aggressive soundscape comes from his vocal performance, with the double-bass drumming coming in as a close second, all the while the guitars and bass adding melody and groove to the fold.
Another highlight is the collaboration with Aleksi Paasonen (BALANCE BREACH), “Mirage,” simply because it superbly uses one of my favourite musical tropes – the vocal layering of growls and cleans, and because their vocal styles complement each other neatly. The chorus of this track, though not as melodic as I would have liked it to be, is absolutely incredible because of how the vocals overlap, creating a sort of echo effect in the background. On top of that, the tempo switches on this album in general, and on this track in particular, are nothing short of brilliant, and the way the music doesn’t slowly de-escalate but just stops to make way for Lotta Ruutiainen‘s breezy vocals shouldn’t work as well as it does. The way it suddenly picks up again for the final reprise of the chorus (which also features her cleans in the background) is not as jarring as expected. After such a rollercoaster, “Frail” feels like a straightforward melodeath track with great guitar melodies, textured synth layers, and powerful vocals; on the other hand, “Shun the Limelight” feels tailor-made for the stage, as that rousing chorus is a potential sing-along delight, and the rhythm is mosh pit worthy.
In short, “We Should Be Buried Like This” is deliciously aggressive and delightfully melodic. I strongly believe this album showcases BLOODRED HOURGLASS at their absolute best, as each of these ten tracks is a banger in its own right, being a significant step forward in the band’s sonic evolution. This makes the whole record feel incredibly strong across the board, from the versatile vocal performance to the intense melodies, searing guitar riffs, and groovy rhythm section, all the way to the vocal layers and backing synth. Everything works in tandem to create a relentless sonic onslaught that will leave listeners thunderstruck yet excited to replay the album again and again.
Written by Andrea Crow
Tracklist
- The Crown Is Permanent
- We Should Be Buried Like This
- Royally Done
- Chasing Shadows
- Dance of the Dandelions
- God Has Favourites
- Mirage
- Frail
- Shun the Limelight
- Vividus
Lineup
- Jaredi Koukonen – Vocals
- Jarkko Hyvönen – Drums
- Jose Moilanen – Bass
- Lauri Silvonen – Guitar
- Joni Lahdenkauppi – Guitar
- Eero Silvonen – Guitar
Label
Out of Line Music
