Buried Alive

by Ryan J. Downey Buried Alive took the torch lit by vocalist Scott Vogel's former bands and ran with it full force, bringing their punishing metalcore to a national audience via incessant touring, one blistering full-length album, and a posthumous release of later-era demos. Similar to genre standard-bearers Hatebreed, Buried Alive's music was stomping, plodding, and heavy. It often picked up the pace a bit to get the mosh pit moving and always strengthened by Vogel's commanding vocal presence and rather bleak lyrical topics. Buried Alive formed in Buffalo after the dissolution of Vogel's former band, Despair, who had released records via Trustkill and Initial during their short but prolific career. Vogel, with a member of Snapcase, had also been a part of Slugfest, so getting Buried Alive noticed quickly in the hardcore scene was a no-brainer once they got moving with a two-song demo and smattering of live performances. Formed in 1998, the band -- whose final lineup also included guitarists Matt Roberts and Scott Sprigg, bassist Joe Orlando, and drummer Kevin Corcoran -- was quickly snatched up by Chicago's Victory imprint. They released a 7" single with them, Six Month Face, followed by a full-length album, The Death of Your Perfect World. Following a healthy amount of time on the road with bands like Skarhead and Madball, Buried Alive decided to call it a day shortly after completing demos for a second album, which were later compiled and released by Victory as Last Rites in 2000.