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GRAVEHAMMER
Bones To Harvest

Rotting Misery / Fucking Kill / Kellerassel (2023)
Rating: 8.5/10

There have been a couple of bands that have used the Gravehammer moniker over the years, but this particular beast hails from Kiel in Germany and has existed since 2015.

Bones To Harvest is another of those long awaited debut full-length releases that digs its bloody claws in immediately due to its catchy old school Swedish death metal vibe. If anything though this album is far rawer and at times edges towards cavernous death-thrash boasting blackened streaks. I love the vocal display of Arillus who has a real filthy style.

Admittedly, when the combo does slow things down such as on the opening chords to ‘Self-righteousness Breeds Torture’, there is that recognisable chainsaw roll. But for the most part Gravehammer deliver a rancid, primal pace married to grinding slower segments, both of which have that guttural, untamed flair that once belonged to Obituary.

I was surprised by the amount of variety on offer here especially with songs like ‘Relics Of A Dying Breed’ with the vocal variances and the monstrous ‘Triumphator’ with its doomy trudge and arrogance before the icy speed blasts emerge. There’s something here for everyone and all the variables are often mashed together to fit into one ghastly track, and it’s great to still get joy from that Swedish guitar tone considering how exhausted the style has become. Gravehammer deliver filth, fury and fire for a foaming, rolling behemoth of a debut.

Neil Arnold

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