Grave - Endless Procession Of Souls review
| Band: | Grave |
| Album: | Endless Procession Of Souls |
| Style: | Death metal |
| Release date: | August 27, 2012 |
| A review by: | Troy Killjoy |
01. Dystopia
02. Amongst Marble And The Dead
03. Disembodied Steps
04. Flesh Epistle
05. Passion Of The Weak
06. Winds Of Chains
07. Encountering The Divine
08. Perimortem
09. Plague Of Nations
10. Epos
So Grave is back with another release, one that continues the trend set forth about... oh, 10 years ago now. I'll get straight to the point, much like these guys do with their music: expect more of the same.
Am I saying this is a bad album? Far from it. It's still a solid death metal release, one that captures the less melodic side of their early albums while maintaining their contemporary straightforward approach. Obviously they aren't trying to wow anybody in the originality department, but those who are looking for more of the same will be more than pleased with this. It's grimy and old school but still slightly polished, blending in the old with the new seamlessly, as they've been doing now for quite some time. Consistency is still a positive quality in the world, right?
And of course you don't write a review of a Grave album without focusing on that nasty guitar tone - that barbaric "crunch" factor more or less synonymous with the band's moniker. When you think Grave, you think old school crunching guitar riffs. What band wouldn't want that kind of signature sound?
I seem to be asking a lot of questions from the readers. So here's a simple answer: this is pure, unrelenting death metal. Not technical, not overly melodic, nothing extra. Just no-nonsense, to the point death metal.
Oh, and for those of you who for whatever reason don't know who these guys are and this is the first Grave album you've ever thought of listening to, here's what you can look forward to: old school mid-paced chunky death metal riffing, bass-heavy pummeling drums, deep-yet-discernible raspy growls, and hints of soloing scattered throughout the album. And a seven minute closing track that honestly doesn't overstay its welcome, even setting up a decent evil atmosphere to help close things out.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 5 |
| Production: | 8 |
 | Written on 09.08.2012 by I'm total pro; that's what I'm here for. |
Comments
| Void Eater Account deleted |
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| Maxx666 Meshuggahian Posts: 376  |
I'm amazed that they still churn out quality releases year after year. I mean seriously its quite hard to find a single weak album in their catalog. And this album is equally great, catchy, and powerful. 9/10
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| D.T. Metal Staff Posts: 4193  |
Written by Maxx666 on 09.08.2012 at 06:37 Ditto! But I wouldn't go with a 9/10 even though I think it's their strongest album in regards of songwriting and production as of yet. hmmm..."...hints of soloing scattered throughout the album..." might be a bit of an understatement  and what I really dig about the new album is the a) "Evil Chuck" influence thru out and b) the thrashiness that can't be denied.
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Written by D.T. Metal on 09.08.2012 at 17:09 I suppose I worded that poorly, what I meant was the solos aren't prolonged. I appreciate the brevity and all and I know they aren't here to compete with the likes of Obscura in terms of technicality, but little five second solos here and there doesn't really rev my engine.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| silenius Posts: 532  |
Good old grave still putting out awesome albums all the fucking time, just love their brand of death! solid album to say the least.
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| thefallenalchmst Posts: 47 |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by thefallenalchmst on 10.08.2012 at 02:26 Agreed. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of well-known zines praised this - it's a big name death metal band that has a fairly big following due to some early classics back in the '90s and a lot of people lose their shit over veteran bands repeating themselves for some reason. I dunno, I think their contemporary stuff is a big step down from what they were doing when they started and this album is just another by-the-numbers release that, while far from bad, just isn't worth praising.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| thefallenalchmst Posts: 47 |
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| Maxx666 Meshuggahian Posts: 376 |
Written by D.T. Metal on 09.08.2012 at 17:09 yeah 9 might seems quite much, but the thing is i'm a huge fan of Grave. So i tend to like all of their releases no matter what.
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| basquetal Posts: 49 |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by basquetal on 13.08.2012 at 03:26 The official release date is August 27th.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| basquetal Posts: 49 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 14.08.2012 at 01:08 ah ok, I wasn´t finding anything about new album on the net and as I saw that you had already done a review, so I wondered how you heard the new album. But it´s ok, I already got to hear the album and I really liked the song called Epos.
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| Priest1927 Posts: 1  |
Nevertheless the album is wonderful. The thing I would like to admit is the originality of the expressed ideas leaves much to be desired.. it would be more surprising to listen to something new and novative. However 7 out of 10, in my opinion.
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| alcross51 Posts: 2 |
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| Blackhand Posts: 21 |
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| Sonic MrSumo Posts: 449  |
This is their best work since Soulless. I think it's a truly solid album! Am seeing them live tonight also...bring it!
---- All the bridges in the world won't save you, if there's no other side to cross to. - Rock poetry from Silverchair.
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| matai65 Posts: 24 |
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