GRAVEYARD
One With The Dead
(BlackSeed Productions)
47:46min

After all I’ve read about this band, I must say (shamefully) that this is my first contact with GRAVEYARD. Coming from Spain, I was expecting some good old blood-soaked Death Metal à la AVULSED / FERMENTO / GSR. Hell was I wrong! It all started as a side-project from members of other Spanish bands such as MORBID FLESH, ERED, TERRORSPAWN, DAWN OV HATE, ENYGMAH and OF DARKNESS. Mostly influenced by the bands they all worshipped when teenagers, Bastard and Julkarn got in contact with drummer Gusi for the first real line up. After two spilt 7"es, a demo tape and adding SBE to the guitar department, "One With The Dead" has been finally unleashed upon us all! Starting off with a classy cover artwork in b/w, these guys pay homage to early 90s Scandinavian Death Metal like no other band has done before. Well, originality is not a highlight here; We have all heard this from bands like CARNAGE, DEMIGOD, NIRVANA 2002, GRAVE, ABHORRENCE etc. The incredible and surprising fact is that GRAVEYARD managed to do it with a vast array of solid riffs, great rhythm section and a powerful vocalist reminiscent of Matti Kärki or Jukka Kolehmainen. To sum it up in one word: awesome! Production wise, "One With The Dead" sounds like straight out of Sunlight Studios back in 1990. Clear, yet heavy as hell, with a well balanced mix and mastering courtesy of Mr. Dan Swanö. The overall sound is almost perfect. You know you love that chainsaw guitar tone, don’t you? Gusi’s drum-work fits in perfectly along Julkarn and Bastard handling both, bass and guitar duties. Now, onto the music: straight up, crushing mid-paced Death Metal, some songs bordering on fast Thrash, with great doomy passages, twisted guitar melodies and interesting leads. Even an evil keyboard moment, as heard in ‘The Skull’. Wait, add another surprising fact: no blastbeats! I can’t really do a song-by-song review since they all have their own identity, catchiness and constant variations. You’ll have to hear it and enjoy it for yourself. Just the right amount of aggression combined with an evil atmosphere makes "One With The Dead" a superb listen, from start to finish. GRAVEYARD pulled it off with class, guts and really good musicianship! Totally and absolutely recommended for fans of real Death Metal, old school or not! www.myspace.com/graveyardofdoom, www.graveyardofdoom.com, www.blackseedprod.com

Alfonso Perez

Alfonso Perez

Related reviews / interviews:
GRAVEYARD - Hold Back The Dawn (Thomas Meyer)
GRAVEYARD - Back To The Mausoleum (Rick Peart)
GRAVEYARD - ...For Thine Is The Darkness (Jaime PĂ©rez)
GRAVEYARD - The Coffin Years (Spitzl)
GRAVEYARD - La Gernandat De La Nit Profunda (Thomas Meyer)
GRAVEYARD - Into The Mausoleum (Thomas Ehrmann)
GRAVEYARD - The Sea Grave (Ralf Hauber)
GRAVEYARD - The Altar Of Sculpted Skulls (Hacker)
GRAVEYARD - Interview (Ralf Hauber)
GRAVEYARD - Interview (Thomas Ehrmann)

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