My Own Grave, Necrology
It’s easy to get burned out on writing reviews for aggressive metal albums. I get so many albums that, at times, it’s more than just a little overwhelming, especially considering the amount of sub-par music out there. That said, every once in a while I get an album that not-so-subtly reminds me why I love this music so much — an album hitting everything I want in a release and more.
Sweden’s My Own Grave have released just such an album. Foregoing the traditional trappings of death metal from their homeland, these dudes deliver eleven tracks of bludgeoning, skull crushing death metal without any pretentiousness. Necrology never really does much to push the boundaries of death metal, but the band delivers with such a fury and infectious energy that will leave you grinning from ear to ear when it’s all said and done.
The music on the band’s second full-length is comprised of chugging guitars, thundering drums (punctuated with nicely timed blasts) rumbling bass and a gravelly, guttural vocal delivery that fits perfectly. There are times throughout the album where visions of bands such as Bloodbath, Unleashed and Entombed come to mind, but My Own Grave never resort to mimicry in their bone crunching take on straight forward death metal.
Awaiting Death
“Awaiting Death” serves as an intro, lasting just under a minute. It has a sweet, catchy bit of guitar work and military precision drumming.
Necrology
The title track wastes no time getting down to business. The band really throw every bit of energy they have into this pile driving monster of a song. The vocals are flat out ferocious! For as beastly as the riffs are, and as manic as the drum work is, there is a slick groove flowing through this like the river Styx. Don’t miss the bad ass lead at 1:43. I love the guitars that end the song — memorable and classic.
Hail The Blind
The guitars throughout this next song have a blackened edge to them that go real well with the machine gun drum work. These guys know how to lay down some thick, punishing grooves. It’s a good thing these songs are relatively short in nature — there’s so much fury packed into each one that any more would cause some several cerebral rupturing.
None Shall See
A great bit of creative drum work opens this next track with sick guitars and a guttural growl. This track is a no-frills, spine-busting helping of bludgeoning death metal. The vocals after the lead (1:54) seem to have gotten more evil and deeper. Hell yeah!
Disciples Of War
Ooooh. Air raid sirens. A classy touch to be sure. Once you get past the sound effects you’re beat over the head with a sledgehammer in the form of thick, chugging riffs. The pace to “Disciples of War” is much slower than the previous tracks which only serves to make it that much more crushing. My only complaint here is that the chorus has a vibe similar to Bloodbath‘s “Eaten.” That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s pretty damned similar. Overall, this is probably the catchiest of all the songs on the album.
Cerecloth
“Ceredoth” gets going with a great bit of thrash inspired riffing and manic drumming. I’m loving the thick bass rumbling throughout this album. The lead at 1:13 is sick as hell. This one has a nice dramatic, epic feel to it as it progresses.
Bloodline Broken
Thick guitars dominate this bruising song with a groove that will leave your neck sore for days. It’s got a great chorus that’s easy enough to growl along with, as well as a couple of nicely timed smaller bursts of guitar shredding. I love the slow down at 1:12 that then leads into some seriously crushing guitars and rapid fire drums.
Exhumed To Be Buried
Stellar guitars open up “Exhumed to be Buried” with light drumming before the band descends head-long into the Stygian Abyss with a big growl. The pace to this one is unrelenting with a quick vocal delivery. The shredding at 1:40 could only be achieved by selling your soul to the dark lord — holy hell it’s slick.
Age Of Torment
Rolling drums accompany some melancholy-tinged guitars as “Age of Torment” gets off to a slightly slower, more dramatic start. The intro to this one certainly served as the calm before the storm. When this one picks up, it’s fury is restrained and focused into crushing riffs, shredding leads and impressive drum work. This song really shows that these guys are capable of taking their collective foot off of the accelerator and doling out some seriously well written death metal.
Carnal Revelations
“Carnal Revelations” starts off with sweet guitar work and nicely timed drums. The soaring lead that really gets this one going has an underlying rock vibe to it, especially when served along with the rhythm guitar work. The pace is picked up dramatically as the vocals come. We’re treated with some nicely layered growls on this one for the first time on the album. It’s a nice touch that’s used in moderation. I’m not sure where the sound clip that ends the song comes from, but it’s oddly disturbing in it’s narration.
Incineration
“Incineration” is definitely a flammable track that wastes no time letting you know My Own Grave isn’t going to waste their final track on some half-assed outro. This song is burly, demonic and crushing. There’s so much going on in this one that it flies by quicker than you realize. I do love how the band wraps up the album with the same guitar work that opened it up. That’s definitely a nice touch.
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Additional Notes:
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