Band:	Grave
Album:	Burial Ground
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	June 14, 2010
A review by:	Troy Killjoy

01. Liberation
02. Semblance In Black
03. Dismembered Mind
04. Ridden With Belief
05. Conquerer
06. Outcast
07. Sexual Mutilation
08. Bloodtrail [feat. Karl Sanders]
09. Burial Ground

Death metal
Sweden
Regain Records

Line-up on the CD:
Ola Lindgren - vocals, guitar
Fredrik Isaksson - bass
Ronnie Bergerståhl - drums


This place is a tomb...

Inveterate Swedish death metal act Grave are considered by many death metal junkies one of the most respected bands in the genre for their work in the early '90s (particularly the tandem of Into The Grave and You'll Never See) while maintaining a relatively stable line-up for the better part of 10 years, with the exception of who would man the kit after Jensa made his departure prior to Fiendish Regression's release. Since returning from their hiatus (coincidentally after the oft-maligned release of Hating Life) Grave has been a household name in straightforward brutality, though little can ever be said for their originality these days.

With Burial Ground, Grave may not be circumventing genre boundaries or broadening horizons, but they certainly know how to create relentless old school death metal riffs, with crunching guitars at the ready. Lindgren's vocals are gruff and husky, complimenting the deep bass work of Fredrik Isaksson. Lindgren and Bergerståhl obviously went out of their way during the mixing and mastering phase to ensure Brother I's work wouldn't go unnoticed. On a related note, Grave stick to their old school guns on this release, limiting the blast beats and technical wankery to a minimum, opting for a more organic feel to the carnage. Crunching bass. Crunching guitars. Crunching vocals. You get the idea.

Repetition is key here. Nine tracks of unrelenting, seemingly facile material regarding death in all its glory: decapitation, mutilation, evisceration, killyourmotherrapeyourdogation - you name it. See also: damnation. See also: fornication.

See also: "deathcore sucks" forum topics.

While the world waits for bands to release albums that sound identical to their masterpiece from 15 years ago/are indicative of a new direction they can shit all over for not conforming to any/all of the standards they have for them, Grave are busy doing their own thing their own way, and could care less about whether or not you think it's true enough. They have created an above-average old school death metal opus reminiscent of the band's glory days, going so far as to bring Karl Sanders aboard for a "killer guitar lead" on "Bloodtrail". My only complaint is that Mr. Sanders didn't lend more of a hand, as his style bolsters the integrity of Lindgren's own killer guitar leads.


Website: http://www.myspace.com/gravespace