Grave - Back from the Grave

Rodrigo

Heat in 7
Apr 17, 2001
883
3
18
Southern California
GRAVE - BACK FROM THE GRAVE
Century Media - 2003

By Rodrigo Escandon

grave_backfromthegrave.jpg


After a six-year recording hiatus, the Swedish death metal band Grave is back with a brand new album the "oh-so cleverly titled" Back from the Grave. In my mind this band should not have bothered at all with returning to the studio. The title of the album is only just a glimpse to the level of originality to what Grave has to offer.

Ten mind-numbing songs, oh sorry that's only nine because we get the necessary intro track to set the mood, that all manage to sound alike. That in essence is the major problem with Back from the Grave. The band has stuck itself into a mid-tempo formula on the entire album and with the exception of the second track "Rise" (the song that leads the "We are back!" chant and is the inspiration of the title of the album) there is no one song that I can distinctly tell apart from each other. Yeah, the lyrics to "Rise" are laughable, especially the chorus, but at least the music is good and it gives promise to the rest of the album but sadly it is all downhill from there.

Back from the Grave is one of those albums that is actually a chore to sit down and listen to and even though I already had my decision on it set, the fact that I got a headache on the last listen to it just didn't make things any better for it. Boring, boring, boring.

Century Media Website
Grave Official Website
 
Original, no, but did you really expect that from a third tier band? Truth is this is a very good death metal album from one of Swedens original bands of the early 90's wave. This is a very heavy album with lots of bottom end to compliment the guitar crunch. The songs do not sound all the same as stated in the above review. The vocals are growly, but you can actually understand the words half the time. Overall this stands up well against the other Grave records. If you are new to the band though I recommend getting the reissue of Hating Life/Soulless in the 2 on 1 format. Yeah, this CD also includes a 2nd CD but its of late 80's demo material.