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Gravehuffer - Depart From So Much Evil (Vinyl Re-Release) - Reviewed By Jenny Tate! Tuesday August 8 2023, 3:09 PM

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Gravehuffer - Depart From So Much Evil (Vinyl Re-Release) - Reviewed By Jenny Tate ! Check it out here at this link: https://jennytate.wordpress.com/2023/04/29/gravehuffer-depart-from-so-much-evil/

Explore the new offering from grindcore, sludge metal, punky doomsters, Gravehuffer, ‘Depart From So Much Evil’.

Each song composition is an individual contribution. The crushing sound delivered in the opener contrasts with more melodically refined numbers, closing with a 22 minute epic, modelled on the dark terror of Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’.

Evolving, since their 2008 formation, following their early industry involvement, through the 90’s, into an ever more re-defined, complex sound, Gravehuffer have come a long way, in that time.

‘DFSME’ follows 4 previous releases, including: 2012’s ‘Blasphemusic’, 2017’s ‘Your Fault’, 2019’s ‘Demon’s Face/Stalingrad’s Cross’ (EP) and 2021’s ‘NecroEclosion’.

Introducing the band members: Travis McKenzie – vocals, Mike Jilge – bass, Ritchie Randall – guitars, Todd Morrison – drums.

Cover Art and narration for ‘DFSME’ by Eric Sweet.

‘DFSME’ is out now, on Black Doomba Records.

Blueprint For An Early Grave – A foghorn intro’s, with an emergency voice-over, till the downtuned guitars hit. A crusty arrangement combines with some spoken vocals, overtaken by death/thrash vocals. Very grinding sounds. A brief, but aggressive track.

Slayberry – A very clear threat to kill opens, with a very blackened, demonic voice following. Short harmonies and frantic riffage. More rhythmic, towards the end. Another fairly brief, but edgy one.

The Cryptid And The Iron Bird – Heavy fast riffage intro’s. Honey monster vocals and a return to the gargoyle-esque demonic voice. Again, a lot of crusty sounds. A rhythmic beat, from 1/4 in. Drums growing heavier, from there. Cymbals adding a slight sheen. Heavy bass and ogre-ish vocals. Dulled tones and more emergency operative voice-overs. Drums characterising much of the track. Picking up the pace, 3/4 in, to a catchier rhythmic melody. That’s where the riffs shine best. Effective bass fade-out, with a touch of cymbal shimmer.

Brainstorm – Laid-back strumming opens, yielding to more growly death vocals. Still interspersing it with more pleasant riff shimmer. This time, adding anthemic backing shouts. Quicker riff rhythms enhance the shouts, evoking beer-swilling imagery, then ending on an opposing quiescence. Chaotic extremes.

Go Murder Pray And Die – Heavy thrash riffs and vocals intro, featuring clear death edges. Well held tones. A surprisingly workable, Viking warrior-esque call and response, interlaced with thrumming bass lines, climbing rhythms and the beer scent and sticky bar-room floors are almost palpable, by the end.

Depart From So Much Evil – Slow steel strings fade in, sombrely, with a string section and darkly haunting atmospherics. A powerfully cinematic narration enters, before blackened vocals take over. A proper growl-fest. Segueing into faster riffs. Definitely the crustiest track. Ghost Train-like screams precede more vocal extremity and then return. Pace alternating, in a chaotic cacophony of blackened atmosphere. A quirky sound hits, 1/4 in, hitting a higher range. Boosting that sound, with a bit of tremolo. The narrative returns, theatrically. Intensifying the doom, towards the bridge, adding a cavalcade of terrified and terrifying voices. Quite literally, the stuff of nightmares. Strong horror angles, throughout. The Ghost Train returns. Almost like a much darker version of Sabbath’s ‘Am I Going Insane’. Gorgeous steel strings reappear, at the bridge, dropping in that restful relief. Then a sudden re-emergence of horror themes, with comedic elements. Lots of low-toned bass and riffage. Gathering riffs and rhythmic drumming unite, as deeper vocals join in, before the pace suddenly picks up, again. The terror angle adds a sharper edge. Echoed background reverb enhances the ghostly atmospherics. A bit more melody, towards the end. An unexpectedly sudden melodic turnaround, in a sound verging on fantasy, followed by a gentler, but still effective haunting group vocal. The sound just flutters here, there and everywhere, ending in an ambient, ethereal tone.

Overall – As ever, with Gravehuffer’s music, ‘Depart From So Much Evil’ is a diverse, eclectic range of sounds, with the grindcore horror firmly at the forefront. An even darker, heavier sound to before, ‘DFSME’ enters deeper extremities and does become a little overwhelming, at times, with so much clashing cacophonous confusion, so slimming it down a little may refine the focus and clarity. Otherwise, it’s what you might call a Gravehuffer special, with added spice.

8/10 ******** Jenny Tate

Release Date: Pre-Sale date is August 11, 2023. Official global release date is September 8, 2023

FFO: Voivod, Napalm Death, The Dillinger Escape Plan

Location: Joplin, MO, USA

Since their inception in 2008, Gravehuffer has crafted their sound into an other-worldly amalgamation of Crust, Punk, Metal, Grindcore, and unapologetic down-tuned Sludge-laden Doom. With an assortment of original songs in their repertoire that showcase the vast array of influence the band pulls from and a fearlessness to never conform or compromise, Gravehuffer is in it for the sake of the song. This is evident on their latest release, "Depart From So Much Evil" which features a 22 minute song, of the same title, based on Dante's Divine Comedy with 3 parts, entitled Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio in the original Tuscan version. It's now available in 3 vinyl record designs, each based on the 3 parts.

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