THE BEAST

Gravehuffer joins us to talk about the new record 'NecroEclosion'! We take questions from the live audience and play new songs from the record as well as new music from Chris Maragoth feat. Neun, Serpent Lord (GR), Haymaker, Unfleshed, Nick Hans, Phantom Hound, Miss Lava, Breaths, BREATH, Speed Stroke, Calibre, Maudiir, Aska, VËLLA, RAVENOIR, Upon Creation, Profaned, Torn Fabriks, UNDER A SPELL, HERTZ KANKAROK, A Ritual Spirit, Amvyx, Immortalizer, Luciferianometh, SixStringNoise, Starscape, The Airwaves, The Sullen, The Uneven, and Victorious! We also play some classics from Ministry and Rock N Roll Villain Society!

1 - Alert Level ((Quarantined Mix))/Twilight Zone - MINISTRY
2 - The Zach Moonshine Intro
3 - Void Winnower - Chris Maragoth feat. Neun
4 - The Gospel of Judas - Serpent Lord (GR)
5 - grizzly fight - Haymaker
6 - Shotgun Fellatio - Unfleshed
7 - Pineywood Blues - Nick Hans
8 - You Don't Know Death - Phantom Hound
9 - The Great Divide - Miss Lava
10 - Gravehuffer - Interview Featuring Custom of the Sea/Sights to the Sky/Quarantine War Machine
11 - A Year on Fire - Breaths
12 - Battle for Harmonic Balance / Halls of Amenti - BREATH
13 - Scene Of The Crime - Speed Stroke
14 - The Agony - Calibre
15 - The Slumber - Maudiir
16 - Leprosy - Aska
17 - Freak Show - VËLLA
18 - Space Wolf - Rock N Roll Villain Society
19 - In The Sign Of The Horns - RAVENOIR
20 - Wake - Upon Creation
21 - The End Of Eden - Profaned
22 - IDIOCRACY LAYERS - Torn Fabriks
23 - Crushed by the Stones - UNDER A SPELL
24 - CARGO CULT - HERTZ KANKAROK
25 - Dead From The Waist Down (Radio Edit) - A Ritual Spirit
26 - Agony - Amvyx
27 - Lemmy - Immortalizer
28 - Invocation Of Third Eye Sphinx - Luciferianometh
29 - you can do - SixStringNoise
30 - Not Built by Human Hands - Starscape
31 - Metal Heart" feat. Tony Martin - The Airwaves
32 - Raido - The Sullen
33 - Social Animals/Back For More - The Uneven
34 - Never Be The same - Victorius

Listen to the full show on Mixcloud below!

Listen to the interview on Spotify!

Listen to the interview on YouTube!

Nowadays metal is often seen as a desert of homogeneity, where it is rare for an oasis of originality to pop up. With this in mind, the out-of-the-box style of Gravehuffer that comes from the small city of Joplin, Missouri is, ironically given their name, a breath of fresh air. A monster of Frankensteinian design, its component parts include crust-punk, thrash metal, grindcore, death metal, and other surprise elements. Although they have 10 years under their belts in this guise (plus three as thrash outfit Krom), individual members have known each other since the late 90s, which makes for clear-cut chemistry music across their three releases. This third, the vividly titled NecroEclosion, sees a band pushing both themselves and the envelope.

First spin through the record is a whirlwind from start to finish, and each track takes a unique path of their blended formula. Some, like “Causes” and “Quarantine Death Machine”, lean on the band’s clear love for their crust. Others, such as “Ghost Dance” and “Hellhound”, bring on catchy yet rumbling death-thrash. Others still (cf. “Mad Wolf” and “Death Before Disco”) throw in brass instrumentation - including interpolating “You Should Be Dancing” by The Bee Gees. Because why not? On the vocal front, since the departure of lifer James Hiser the band have taken up the mantle collectively, in an overwhelming display of versatility.

Their influences look like a dive bar’s wall, plastered in posters of Aus-Rotten, Napalm Death, and Nausea next to Morbid Angel, old school Mastodon, and Voivod. Speaking of Voivod, NecroEclosion provides a chance for Gravehuffer to work with their heroes, as Dan “Chewy” Mongrain provides a ripping solo on >>>>>, and Curran Murphy (Annihilator, Nevermore) tears up “Smaller Than Death”. On a more abstract level, the band’s surroundings of small-town Joplin also inspire their work, though recognizing that “a lot of the times, it's in a negative light unfortunately,” says guitarist Ritchie Randall. “Religious upbringing is a huge part of the town, so that does play a large part in shaping how we filter and process what goes on around us.” He also name-checks the working class roots and forested landscapes as other subliminal yet significant parts to their sound, which results in a sound that goes far beyond their genre peers.

NecroEclosion is a success on all fronts - it’s full of thrilling moments, and never dulls despite repeat spins. The production values have also ramped up from their last effort, an area that bassist Mike Jilge and Garry Moore honed in on. In short, Gravehuffer are on their A-game, and fans of metal, punk, and grind must give them a listen. 
credits
released January 15, 2021

Produced by Gravehuffer
Recorded at Skunkwax Audio Unit by M.Jilge (1/24/20 - 6/19/20)
Mixed by M. Jilge
Mastered by Garry Moore
Travis McKenzie - Vox
Ritchie Randal - Guitars, Vox
Jay Willis - Drums, Vox
Mike Jilge - Bass
Guitar Solo "Sight to the Sky" Dan 'Chewy' Mongrain (Voivod)
Guitar Solo "Smaller Than Death" Curran Murphy (Annihilator, Nevermore)
Guitar Solo "Stingray" Craig Hecht
Guest Vox - Stan Boman
Horns arranged and performed by Doug Discharry
Front cover by Eric Sweet
Rear Cover by Kavie Imasya