Burned in Effigy – Tyrannus Aeternum
Release Date: 31st October 2025
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Neoclassical Melodic Death Metal
FFO: Obscura, Vivaldi, Necrophagist, Bach, Changeling, Synestia, Orbit Culture, The Black Dahlia Murder, Brahms, Impureza, Exmortus, Carnosus, early Dark Tranquillity, Laudare.
Review By: Malte Brigge
Since its earliest days as a genre pulling away from the influences of heavy blues and rock ‘n’ roll, metal has taken inspiration from the compositional exactitude of what we generally refer to as classical music. From Deep Purple to Ihsahn to Synestia, bands have integrated symphonic orchestration as core aspects of their compositional process, not just something tacked on as an emotional backing track creating the illusion of depth. Billing themselves as “neoclassical melodic death metal”, Chicago’s Burned in Effigy combine musical virtuosity trained more on études than the 12-bar minor pentatonic and present it with heavy, rib-cracking intensity. Their 2022 debut, Rex Mortem, smacked us around with speed, dexterity and musical intelligence. Returning with two new guitarists on Tyrannus Aeternum, are they just showing off their Latin or is there brawn backing up these brains?
The three movements of Tyrannus Aeternum, bridged by short, purposeful interludes, act as thematically linked suites. The first, from the start of Befouled Benefaction through the high peaks of Masquerede, flies over a common sonic foundation driven through the crazy lightning leaps of early Dark Tranquillity but with tighter, Fountainhead-esque songwriting and focus. Burned in Effigy’s distinct sound becomes sharply apparent in the middle suite. Wage of Exile employs fugue-like structures that twist and turn, exploiting themes with lead runs and harmonies that sweep across scaly spectra and you off your feet. It does not create moods or paint landscapes; it calls your attention to the beauty, skill and fluency of the composers and players while, at the same time, slapping you repeatedly across the face with an iron gauntlet, the heft of which fully forms in the final movement. Tyrannus Aeternum continues the technical mayhem of their debut, recalling bands like Obscura, Origin and Carnosus, while fluidly integrating between and within songs their studies not only of Vivaldi and Strauss but de Lucía, too.
Jordon Beal’s clean production ensures everything sounds monumental. I wouldn’t mind if Matt Watkins’ bass had a bit more spotlight: his prominence on Sacrificial Seance unveils both gorgeous sound and playing and, from that moment, especially on Monstrosity Reborn, his place in the mix is either stronger or the ears are better tuned to him. For most of the album, Eddie Dec’s drumming, rather than keeping time, flows like a cyclone around the time-warp writing, but songs like The Racking make you realize how much control and restraint he has. Those blink-an’-you-miss-‘em rolls on Wage in Exile give insight into the deftness of his touch. Mark “Smedy” Smedbron’s vocals have a chameleon quality to them, switching from bloodstained howls to wintry shrieks to molten growls with the fluency of a polyglot, calling to mind Trevor Strnad’s and Jonatan Karasiak’s ability to sound like four different vocalists at once.
Steve Bacakos and Mike Hisson’s fretwork ranges from the stunning (Monstrosity Reborn) to the gorgeous (Masquerade) to the phenomenal (Wage of Exile) to the “oh fuck yeah!” (Crown Crusher), as full of fury as of finesse. From start to finish, their eye-popping precision and electrifying speed will get you whipping out that air guitar when no one’s looking. The glissando waves of Masquerade feel like a riptide sucking you into its depths, and the classical studies of Wage of Exile simply take the top of your head off. All of which makes the main riff of Crown Crusher—and its evolution across the song—so much more delightful for its traditional simplicity and easy heaviness. It feels like a hard-won and much-deserved victory, while the earwormy clean vocal harmonies on the chorus, heard nowhere else, make it surprising this song isn’t the closer. That said, the way Citadel ends the album on a full band note rather than a fadeout is appropriate given the effort each player has invested.
Tyrannus Aeternum is musician’s music but stays grounded enough even the lowest lunkhead headbanger can enjoy the shit out of it. I can only nitpick about the ordering of the final songs and wanting a bit more bass early on, but find little to criticize. I’ve been waiting all year for an album like this and, with it, Burned in Effigy are fully arrived. From Vivaldi to Dark Tranquillity, flamenco to waltz, rainstorms to anvils, the album is loaded without being weighed down. With freight train riffs, rising phoenix solos, memorable choruses and orchestral sweeps, Tyrannus Aeternum is a heady, tightly crafted, explosion of simply excellent baroque melodic death metal that any fan of the genre should be dumbfoundedly excited about.
(4.5 / 5)
