Gravewurm: Infernal Minions

One of the things I love about heavy metal generally is that many of the bands are made up of fans of the music, geeks who concern themselves with the sound, the scene, and the music. Gravewurm is one of those bands. For twenty three years now, these guys have dedicated themselves to sticking closely to the type of black metal they love—this means drawing explicitly on bands like Hellhammer, Venom, Beherit, Burzum, and many others. Even though this release is only their ninth full-length album, check out their full discography for the full list of EPs and Splits they've done over the years. With this album, fans will hear more of the uncompromising attempt to stay close to the simple riffs, rough vocals, and arcane lyrics that they've come to expect.

Musically, this album is often very good. I especially liked the straightforward and simple riffs; bands like this aren't interested in demonstrating a deep commitment to the more technical aspects of guitar playing. Instead, they come up with a series of riffs that channel that special energy metal fans know and love. The riffs always sounded great. At times, though, I thought that the drums and the guitars didn't seem to play well together. This was especially noticeable on "Crown of the Fallen," a track that seems to rush through the guitar parts, leaving the drums lagging behind. I could make out a steady beat, but I thought the guitars lost it at times. I don't' know if this was deliberate, but it was certainly distracting. I also didn't care for the keyboard parts on "Dominion of Lost Souls" and "Mistress of Blood and Fire." They sounded tinny, cheap even, and didn't add anything especially important to the music as a whole. The vocals are kind of cool, but I got tired of the way they sounded the same on every track. They are processed through a mixture of reverb and echo that gives them an otherworldly or unnatural quality. This is obviously done deliberately and is a signature part of the band's sound. Still, it dragged for me over the course of the album.

On the whole, this is a good album. Aside from a few problems, the album has an admirable commitment to a DIY ethos and certainly succeeds in keeping old school black metal alive and well.

Track Listing:
1. Nocturnal Inquisition
2. The Evil Within
3. Master of the Dark
4. Dominion of Lost Souls
5. The Beast of the Abyss
6. I Die for Hell
7. Crown of the Fallen
8. Mistress of Blood and Fire

Added: April 16th 2013
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1938
Language: english

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