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Grave - Burial Ground review



Reviewer:
7.7

56 users:
7.66
Band: Grave
Album: Burial Ground
Release date: June 2010


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


Rating breakdown
Performance: 7
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 5
Production: 9





Written on 28.07.2010 by I'm total pro; that's what I'm here for.


Comments

Comments: 6   Visited by: 156 users
28.07.2010 - 09:20
Rating: 8
Dangerboner
Lactation Cnslt
Wow, I had no idea that this existed until today, thanks to your review. I heard the entire album on YouTube at work just now, and while at first I thought it was a little generic, it quickly started to grow on me. I haven't heard their previous, but this one seems a little more old-school sounding

I think a 7.7 is accurate

Edit - Just ordered it!
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28.07.2010 - 13:51
vezzy
Stallmanite
Nice way to review a death metal album. I'll check it out, didn't knew it existed either! O.o
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28.07.2010 - 16:31
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Dangerboner on 28.07.2010 at 09:20

Wow, I had no idea that this existed until today, thanks to your review. I heard the entire album on YouTube at work just now, and while at first I thought it was a little generic, it quickly started to grow on me. I haven't heard their previous, but this one seems a little more old-school sounding

I think a 7.7 is accurate

Edit - Just ordered it!

The same thing happened with me - I started out thinking it was going to be a pretty flat release, but as the time passed each song seemed to get better and my overall thoughts of the album grew to be a lot more positive.

The only place I can find a copy to order it is directly through Relapse, and their prices are less than attractive.

Written by vezzy on 28.07.2010 at 13:51

Nice way to review a death metal album. I'll check it out, didn't knew it existed either! O.o

Thanks! Hopefully you think it's worth your time.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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30.07.2010 - 19:59
silenius

You gotta love grave, they do their thing as they always do it^^, spot on review. Nice old school death release.
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22.01.2011 - 23:09
Rating: 10
Vivi'

I adore Grave! This album is one of my favourites! I love the way they stay old school!

Btw, 'Sexual Mutilation' grabbed my full attention the first time I listened to it and that it became one of my favourite songs of all time then!
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29.06.2011 - 15:33
Rating: 7
Hugoj33

I don't like the production, their previous sound much better
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