"Death Curse" by Gravehill

Gravehill originally formed in 2001, but the current band has very little in common with the trio that was founded nearly 13 years ago. After they recorded their demo, they did the most metal thing they could do.They broke up and then re-formed in 2006.

We will consider the era from 2006-12 to be a time of great upheaval for our friends in Gravehill though there was much rejoicing as they wrote, recorded, and released records and performed shows, but it was not without its travail, as members came and went.

The current lineup formed in 2012 as the previous two guitarists had to return to their touring schedule with Exhumed. After their departure, Gravehill recruited two new full time guitarists and set their sights on writing, recording, and releasing a new record.

Well they look properly deathy.

This record begins with a short instrumental, well, interlude, but it didn't happen at the right time to be called as such, that lulls the listener into a false sense of security.

After the 90 seconds of buildup, Death Curse takes off and doesn't look back.

This album is as heavy as the elephants at the zoo, but a bit more nimble.

This is death metal like you read about. The guitars are just shy of chainsaws, but just more than a compressed gain. The vocals are growled by demons from hell. The drums blast the beats. The lyrics sound like the first person narrative of Jason Voorhees.

In between the crushing riffs, "harmony" death vocals, and the drum breakdowns are the solos. The two new slingers don't just stand there with sweep picking or two handed taps in order to sound impressive. They play the sought after, songs within songs. From time to time they combine their skills like Voltron to make even bigger and better solos.

The drums are perfectly played for some classic, Tampa Bay style death metal. There are blast beats, double snare beats, and crashing cymbals. The snare beats are mixed down to a perfect level, but the bass drums are too quiet. So, we'll just have to wait a little while longer for that perfectly played and mixed death metal record, but there's naught wrong with a 98 percent.

This disc is old school death metal played to near perfection. It would be impossible for fans of the genre to be disappointed.

Release: 4/1/14
Genre: Metal, Death Metal
Label: Dark Descent Records
Run time: 36:10
Facebook link

1) Gates of Hell
2) Death Curse
3) At Hell's Command
4) Open Their Throats
5) Fear the Reaper
6) Unending Lust for Evil
7) Black Blood Rising
8) Crucified
9) The Ascending Fire