Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Reader Submission: Graveborne: Pure Negativity

Graveborne is a black metal band from Finland. It has been quite awhile since I have heard a new band with this kind of sound. This is definitely a throwback to the early to mid 1990's Scandinavian black metal sound. With equal parts Immortal, Impaled Nazarene, Gorgoroth, Watain, and Marduk, the music of Graveborne definitely recalls a simpler time in black metal, before the non-metal influences began creeping in and the genre became much more diversified. There's definitely something to be said for that.

Graveborne definitely know their source material. This album sounds like authentic Scandinavian black metal. They capture the hate-filled atmosphere, the pounding blast beats, the raspy vocals, and the tremolo riffing style perfectly. This is not to say that this the band do not have their own voice, they certainly do. The influences may be obvious, but the band does a great job of forging their own path.

Possibly the most impressive thing about this release is how great it sounds overall. The production job is great, and you can hear every single drum hit and every single riff perfectly. Obviously this was not true of a lot of the black metal coming out when the scene was just getting started.

It has been awhile since there was such an unapologetically old-school black metal album that caught my attention like this. Graveborne has definitely impressed me with this release.

1 comment:

  1. I got a copy, too, and quite like it. I definitely thought of Immortal's guitar techniques and Watain's sense of reckless abandon. The opening salvo really sets the stage. Review is forthcoming.

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