Grave-Out of Respect for the Dead (2015)



Grave-Out of Respect for the Dead (2015)

“The process of delving into the black abyss is to me the keenest form of fascination.”
H. P. Lovecraft

By: Ghost Writer
I knew little about welfare states and the law of Jante when I was young, I didn't know anything about one of the most advanced societies in our world or how the Swedish managed to create something close to paradise (but a bit frozen), but I certainly knew a lot about Swedish Death Metal, I LOVED Entombed, Dismember, Unleashed and Grave, for a couple of years those were my favorite bands and I just couldn't get enough of that Nordic stuff, it was awesome, those buzz saw guitars, those thick bass lines, those hardcore inspired brutal growling and flesh ripping solos, those bands were definitely creating a whole new death metal universe that always seemed too exciting for me.

I guess I can say that these days Entombed is "dismembered", with the band members committed to other projects, some of them closer to mainstream and way more successful, or even forming new parallel versions of the band using the same legendary name, also I haven't heard a lot about Dismember in years, Unleashed last record was sort of mediocre, it did little for me, but there is still hope in Sweden as Grave's latest recording Out of Respect for the Dead simply shows a lot of promise.

The band waste no time and after a small dissonant intro quickie mutates into the rabid metal unit it is known for with Mass Grave Mass, with its hardcore lightning speed drums and explosive guitar riffs, this time eternal Grave front man Ola Lindgren has brought great ideas turned into great songs, the tempos are amazing and as some of the best things in life, Lindgren knows how to keep things simple and direct, and that's perhaps the biggest asset in this whole recording, as Flesh Before My Eyes is another mind blowing explosion capable of leaving a few zombie brainless listeners out there with Lindgren and Mika Lagren riffs creating enough density to attach the whole terrific parts into a powerful whole.

It is incredible to listen to the mean machine attack of Plain Pain Box and then its vacuum like guitar arrangements, there's no denying that this band has decided to make a worthy effort in order to put Swedish old school death metal back in the map, and that is also very clear after listening to the revolting title track, that simply brings me back to my teenage years when head banging was a must, although I have no long hair nowadays, but tunes like The Ominous "They" definitely demand us to do some serious head bang.

Out of Respect for the Dead is an outstanding record form a band that many may thought was never to make such an incredible back, but Grave has managed to make the unthinkable, get back their classic sound, adding admirable amounts of energy and passion, as the soloing in Trail of Ungodly Trades easily shows, this is the kind of record we have been expecting to come from Scandinavia in order to show is that death metal still dwells there.


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