Known for their love of amphetamine-like intensity and high-speed bombast, Burden of Grief is a German metal band that believes in going for the jugular. Some people have characterized their blistering work as "melodic death metal," a term that has been applied to Scandinavian bands like At the Gates, In Flames, and Age of Ruin. But Burden of Grief don't really sound like the Nordic bands that are considered melodic death metal and/or symphonic black metal. Instead, Burden of Grief -- whose albums are best described as a combination of death metal and thrash metal with power metal references -- get most of their inspiration from American and British bands, and those bands range from the seminal Slayer to Megadeth to Iron Maiden (although Burden of Grief generally favor a harsher and faster approach than Maiden and other old-school power metal outfits).