Ok so now it’s time for some extreme metal and I thought that I would take a look at one of my favorite bands of all time and that’s the band Grave. Grave is one of the oldest death metal bands from Sweden and are considered part of the Big 4 of death metal along with Dismember, Entombed , and are absolutely badass who have had several lineups. Many of those former members went on to join other Swedish death metal bands like Entombed. So,let’s take a look….
Into the Grave- like any other death metal band in the early 90’s, the recording on this is very raw sounding. I’m willing to bet that live it was even better. Right out the gate, we start off strong and this isn’t one of those albums where it’s uneven. The talent is definitely there but it just needs to be refined a bit. The riffs are crushing and the drums are like your typical death metal drumming. All in all a pretty solid debut. I give it 8/10
Standouts: For Your God, Hating Life, Haunted
You’ll Never See- another album that’s highly regarded as a Grave classic. The thing about this is that it doesn’t rely so much on blast beats that so many American death metal bands were doing at the time. All in all, this one pretty much sounds a lot like the first album and I give it 8/10
Standouts: Morbid Way to Die, Obsessed, Now and Forever
Soulless- this right here is like the definitive Grave album. Like it’s so evil, brutal, and satanic it’s awesome!! I’d definitely put this right there with albums like Slaughter of the Soul. Now the band did slow down a bit and the songs are deeper sounding but damn this is a fantastic and brutal death metal album. Sadly, this would be the last album with original vocalist and bass player Jörgen Sandström. There isn’t a single bad song on this album and this is an album that is slowed down the right way. What’s really fun to do is blast the title song next to people. Honestly though if you are looking for a n album to start, definitely go with this one. I definitely give this one 10/10
Standouts: (besides all of them) Bullets Are Mine, Soulless, I Need You
Hating Life- so this one was actually on the same album as Soulless and it’s also the first with guitarist Ola Lindgren on vocals now. When I heard the first song, I actually forgot that it was on so I for some reason thought it was a demo. On this one, Ola actually has cleaner vocals than Jörgen and it actually sounds like it could be an Entombed album by the way his voice is on this album. This isn’t a bad album but just different compared to the last album. This is also probably the only Grave album to have clean vocals on it. I just think that since this was his first time, you could tell that they wanted to try something new and it works. I give this 9.5/10
Standouts: Worth the Wait, Beauty Within, Redress
Back From the Grave- so before this came out, the band took a little break from 1997-2002 the only album being a live album called Extremely Rotten Flesh. This is the new studio album they came with and holy shit is this album good! This has to be one of my favorite albums by these guys. Here, Ola Lindgren is back on guitars and vocals and this time they are more guttural unlike the last album. Another perfect album like Soulless which is why I give this album another perfect 10/10
Standouts: (besides all of them) Behold the Flame, Below, Thorn to Pieces
Fiendish Regression- so if the last one was straight up heavy with doomy riffs then this one makes up for it with speediness. At first I didn’t think this one was as strong but going back and listening to it again, I have a better appreciation for it. I get a sense that they were trying to go back to their earlier roots a little here. On this album the blast beats are a lot more noticeable here even though original drummer Jensa Paulsson is not on this album. While Back From was more of a death/doom metal album, this one is more of a thrash/death metal feel to it. I give this one 9.5/10
Standouts: Last Journey, Bloodfeast, Awakening
As Rapture Comes- now with this album, I think it’s safe to say that they are firing on all cylinders. I feel like the last three albums they were trying different things. Here, they went for what they do best and that’s death metal meets doom with hints of thrash. This album is one of their angriest but it’s absolutely heavy and badass. There is also a great cover of the Alice In Chains song Them Bones. There are a couple filler songs but as a whole, this is another one to definitely check out. I give this 9.5/10
Standouts: Burn, Through Eternity, Them Bones
Dominion VII- this one definitely feels the most like a death metal meets doom metal album. That’s not to say that there aren’t any faster songs but on here, the riffs are slower and more crushing. Previous drummer Pelle Ekegren has been replaced with new drummer Ronnie Bergerstahl who does a fantastic job. I will say that this one took me a couple of listens to really get into this one but I definitely think that it’s one of their strongest releases. I give it 9/10
Standouts: A World in Darkness, Bloodpath, Dark Signs
Burial Ground- this was the first Grave album that I ever purchased. Going back now, I’d say that it’s not as strong as other albums. There are some really good songs on here but this one seems a little rushed and I don’t know, I found myself starting to get a little bored with this one. I give it 8/10
Standouts: Liberation, Outcast, Sexual Mutilation
Endless Procession Of Souls- ok so after listening to the last one and this one, I think it’s safe to say that this is a much better album. Here they seemed to go with a more traditional death metal formula. The songs actually have more groove to them. This is another fantastic release and it just shows that they’ve pretty much stayed true to themselves. Definitely an instant classic for this band and another one to check out if you are just getting into old school Swedish Death Metal. I give this 9.5/10
Standouts: Perimortem, Winds of Chains, Disembodied Steps
Out of Respect For The Dead- with their newest release, they’ve decided to slow this one down. It’s not as fast and in your face as Endless but it doesn’t need to be because we are back to that whole death metal meets doom metal sound again. The riffs are in usual Grave tradition where they are slow and crushing. I’ve noticed that for every faster album there’s a slower album too. This was another one that where I had to listen to it again in order to really appreciate it. At the end of the day, it doesn’t break any new ground but it’s Grave doing what they do best. I give it 9/10
Standouts: Mass Grave Mass, Trail of Ungodly Trades, Deified
As I said earlier this is one of my personal favorite bands maybe even favorite death metal bands. They always have consistently great albums and if you haven’t listened to them I definitely would encourage you to do so. I honestly can’t think of a bad album they have which makes this one a challenge to rank all their albums. Ola Lindgren and evening original vocalist Jörgen Sandström both have unique voices in death metal. Hopefully Grave will come to the US sooner rather than later because they always put on a great live show.
Final Grade: A+
Album Rankings:
- Back From the Grave
- Soulless
- Endless Procession Of Souls
- As Rapture Comes
- Dominion VII
- Fiendish Regression
- Hating Life
- You’ll Never See
- Into The Grave
- Out of Respect For The Dead
- Burial Ground
Sinister Reviews 