You hear the phrase "Metalcore", you may instantly think of America. I for one only know of one European Metalcore band - INSENSE - and here we have British riffers BURY TOMORROW. Already a well-established name, these lads have returned with "Runes", a long, giant piece of meat of a Metal album, crammed full of groove-ridden riffs, drowning breakdowns, gorgeous melodies and wonderfully contrasting vocal displays.

"Man on Fire" opens with a discordant, muddy-yet-clean passage that gives way to a monumental series of chugs and syncopated riffs that will blow the caps off volcanoes. In contrast to the gruff and aggressive growls are clean vocals on display during the chorus; both of which have a slight Howard Jones vibe about them; cleverly nuanced, versatile and inescapably catchy. "The Torch" is an uplifting, extremely powerful anthem of Punk-driven riffs and soaring, melodic vocals. Located and dug in amongst the more pleasant sections are hell-raising, room-shaking riffs that put modern 'hair'-core to shame. The fact is, is that this band does Metalcore right, easily on par with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, SHADOWS FALL and DEVIL YOU KNOW.

"Darker Water" is easily one of my favorites, perhaps closer to the realm of Melodic Death Metal.  The opening riff is one of my favorite moments on the entire release, and does not belie the obvious technical ability of the band's guitarists, blending virtuosic licks with solid, bone-breaking grooves. Even the breakdowns have something more to them; a musical motif I have never been much of a fan of, for a lack of versatility and imagination. But I'll be damned if this band engineers them to sound amazing, and are in fact a stand-out factor. This might, however, have something to do with the fact they aren't used every second bar. "Last of the Ice" evolves a little out of the Melodic Death Metal spectrum, although brandishing many of the stylistic riffs. Here, a more punk-filled, if not Thrashy approach is taken to the riffs, which project the infinite power of the band's screamer. In due time I am thrown back down by series of razor-edged grooves.

In sincerity, this is Metalcore done right, and the band deserves to stand at the forefront of a genre often plagued by an incorrectly-assumed, stigma of cliché, because they may be the next best thing to happen to it.