Almost a month after their crushing live show in Athens, Greece with MALEVOLENT CREATION, it was high time to get a closer look on the new album of the Swedish death metal legends “Out Of Respect For The Dead“.
GRAVE are one of those bands, that never cease to amaze their fans with their longtime consistency in terms of record quality. Their previous album “Endless Procession Of Souls” was addictively great, let’s see how this one will turn out!
The doomish intro just before the full-speed tornado “Mass Grave Mass”, sets the tone for the rest of the album. Relentless Swedish Death metal in your face! With its mid-tempo headbanging parts, its undeniable groove and atmosphere, reeking of open coffins. “Flesh Before My Eyes” kicks in with a whammy bar lead, slightly slower with some seriously addictive mid-tempo riffage in the middle. “Plain Pine Box” slows things down a bit, introducing us to the well known Swedish Death (I said DEATH) metal vibe once more, giving the listener more room to headbang and feel that vibe, especially in the solos. The title track comes up next to remind us of the full-speed ahead riffage built to destroy venues with old school mosh pits, especially that crushing mid-tempo chorus!
“The Ominous “They” ” is a balanced track between the doomish groove and the razor-sharp riffage, with more of a darkened vibe rather than a relentless skin beating. “Redeemed Through Hate” was the first track made available from this record: drum break before an insane full-speed ahead track with a beautiful Doomy mid-section. Along with “Deified”, they are a duo for total disaster in live shows!
After the Doomy intro of “Trail Of Ungodly Trades”, things take the usual balanced route between the crushing heavy riffs and the brutal thrashing, with a more melodic riff fading out. “Grotetsque Glory” is the epic of this album, clocking at just under 10 minutes, with Doom/Death-oriented rhythms and melodies to take your soul away.
I have no idea how GRAVE does it, but the back of my neck hurts every time. And I fuckin’ love it!
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