Reader Submissions: Graveyard Dirt: For Grace or Damnation

We have come to the end of the Ashen Productions reviews for the week. I purposely left this one for last because it is kind of an outlier for the label. Graveyard Dirt is much more of a doom/death metal band, with no black metal influences. It is sonically very different from the previous bands.

The music reminds me a bit of Morgion, in that the songs are often slower-paced withh rolling riffs and some surprisingly harsh vocals. Over all it is a very melancholic record. The vocals are occasionally spoken, which is fine, but I much prefer the harsher vocal style.

Doom has been taking over the metal world of late and Graveyard Dirt fits in well. However, the band did not simply jump on the bandwagon. Graveyard Dirt actually originally formed in 1994 but went on hiatus for several years. This is actually the band's first full-length release. They have only released a demo in 1996 and an EP in 2007 before this.

Graveyard Dirt does an admirable job of still retaining heaviness even though the music is mostly somber. The band still provides crushing riffs to go along with the chilling guitar leads. The harsh vocals add to the atmosphere, making this an incredibly heavy yet melodic doom metal album.

This is a very impressive album. The band waited almost sixteen years before releasing their first full-length. All that time paid off.