The evolution of the post-metal and doom scenes has been a sight to behold – and a personal godsend. It’s been especially a treat to revel in the seemingly exponential growth of these two genres for the past few years, or at least that’s how it feels after listening to bands like Burial Clouds. The Portland act brandish a particular styling of post and doom that suggests much grit and power but also resides in unfiltered emotional resonance. This is especially true for “Windflower”, the band’s latest single and one which Everything Is Noise is delighted to premiere.
Accompanied by a music video directed and edited by Double J and Nicole Clemetson, “Windflower” is dangerously enchanting right from the beginning. Crooning vocals that just barely transition into wails tease around sudden bursts of distortion and juxtaposed with shots of bloomed white flowers. It doesn’t take long for the track to enter in full force into a dirge of colossal riffs and howling shrieks that unravels with a command that mirrors seasoned veterans of the aforementioned genres. It’s heavy, dynamic, and delivered with much character.
The video alternates between great clips of the band performing the track and more shots of the white flowers with what looks to be like blood slowly dripping on them (and eventually set ablaze), which is fitting considering how the song has moments of both serenity and straight-up sonic assault. The chorus particularly is a highlight for me: drums switch from a driving thrash beat to tasteful doomy half-time, giving way to infectious guitar leads and throttling basslines while the vocals progressively get more desperate and anguished. Truth be told, I found myself impressed at the runtime of the track (in the best way possible) on every listen because the way it was arranged just feels so monumental and expansive in comparison. No doubt, this is yet another win for the genre.
“Windflower” serves as a teaser for their upcoming sophomore album Burn Holy, slated for release on May 22nd and which you can pre-order here. Written, engineered, recorded, and mixed by the band and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, the album will be ‘more intense in every direction… Prettier and heavier, more gentle, vicious, intense, technically challenging, you name it‘. Make sure to follow Burial Clouds on their Instagram for future updates.
