Burden is a German sludge rock band and they released a 3 song EP called "The Fool". The sound is very southern and remind me a lot of Corrosion of Conformity at least vocally. That's not necessarily a bad thing but don't expect to hear anything new. What I really dig about this stuff is it's very catchy and I can detect some blues influences which I really love when bands do that. I will give them points for that.

I have to admit I hate it when the band put out an EP that is only 3 songs long. Just call it a demo for Pete's sake. The sound is also a little bit too fuzzy for my taste and it kinda make the songs a bit less catchy than it could be with more polished mastering. The bass kinda got lost in the noise which I really don't like. I'm a bass frenzy and I want to be able to hear bass just as clearly as rest of the instruments. However the EP definitely show some promise. It's for anyone who dig some sludge-y rock that's catchy as well.

Score: 6.5/10

Best Song: "Bottled Betrayal"-very catchy and I really can see the band's potential in this song.

Worst Song: "The Fool"- the album title track that could be much better with good mastering. The sound is too fuzzy and I didn't enjoy it as much as rest of the other songs.

http://www.myspace.com/listentoburden

Labels: burden, corrosion of conformity, german, hard rock, review, sludge metal