History & Biography Burden Of Grief was formed in the summer of 1994 in Warburg, Germany. The line-up comprised of Mike Huhmann, guitarists Philipp Hanfland and Oliver Eikenberg and drummer Christoph Schellöh. Next to enter the fold was bassist Ulrich Busch. The band recorded the A Duet Of Thoughts, Above Twilight Wings (with Andy Classen) and Eternal Solar Eclipse demos in 1996, 1997 and 1999 respectively. The producer for the last demo was Carsten Schmerer who would soon join the band on drums!
The Germans soon signed a deal with Grind Syndicate Media, which issued the band's debut album, Haunting Requiems, in 2000. This album was in fact a compilation of the band's demo-CDs. The band appeared live at Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig, Party.San Open Air and the Rocktown Open Air. The sophomore album was issued courtesy of Massacre Records. Moreover, the band's cover of Iron Maiden's prowler appeared on Nuclear Blast's Iron Maiden tribute disc. Oliver Eikenberg left the fold and was replaced by bassist Busch! Fields Of Salvation was mixed by Tommy Hansen in Denmark and was issued in 2004. The boys also recorded Raise Your Fist for a Running Wild covers album. Cleopatra/Magick Records licensed the album for the American market in 2005. In the meanwhile, the band announced yet another drummer. The new man was Sebastian Robrecht. The band members asked guitarist Ulrich Busch and bassist Dirk Bulmahn to leave the fold in 2006. Replacing them were guitarist Johannes "Joe" Rudolph of Gutlock and bassist Florian Bauer of Twilight Prophecies.
Germany’s Burden Of Grief was in the studio in late 2009 recording a new album, which was due in the spring of 2010. Follow The Flames would contain ten new songs and come with a bonus CD of Iron Maiden, Sepultura, Whitesnake and other cover versions. The band gave an album release party for Eye Of The Storm on the fifth of May 2018. The band played a concert with Contradiction, which was throwing in the towel. Burden Of Grief had a full-length called Destination Dystopia through Massacre Records on November 24th 2023. There was a video for the song Fevered Dreams. Apophis and Face Down Hero supported the band for its release concerts.
Reviews BURDEN OF GRIEF - FIELDS OF SALVATION - REMEDY/MAGICK
Burden Of Grief may hail from Germany, but the bulk of the band's material is inspired by the Swedish stylings of Dark Tranquillity, Eucharist et al. The speed/death metal band is tight, compact and a nifty package for lovers melodic and harmonic metal. The band tries its hand at a few diverse elements, like the opening drum sound or the uncharacteristic solo on Yearning For Salvation, which lend the band a spell of freshness. Speaking of titles like Yearning For Salvation, Desaster (sic) And Decay, Dead Soul Decline or The Nightmare Within the band's lyrics mostly depict a conflicted band with gloomy and cynical lyrics. The cover's artwork itself is at first glance incongruous with the album's title - perhaps intentionally so. Burden Of Grief can speed up to blast tempos or show off its technical prowess - kudos especially go to drummer Carsten Schmerer - which make the quintet even more appealing. The album ends with a live version of the song Reborn which shows the band's more technical side and its Kreator influence. - Ali "The Metallian"
Interviews
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