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August 29, 2008 |
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01. Intro - Day Of Reckoning
02. Burn
03. Through Eternity
04. By Demons Bred
05. Living The Dead Behind
06. Unholy Terror
07. Battle Of Eden
08. Epic Obliteration
09. Them Bones
10. As Rapture Comes
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After 15 years of existence and 8 releases to their credit, including one live album, these pioneers of the Swedish Death Metal movement are back with a brand new weapon of mass destruction titled "As Rapture Comes". With the whole thing mixed by Peter Tätgreen and frontman Ola Lindgren at Abyss Studios (just like its two predecessors "Back From The Grave" and "Fiendish Regression"), all odds for mistakes have once again been eliminated.
As usual, the music of GRAVE is very recognizable on the opening track "Burn", which keeps switching gears between a very slow and menacing tempo and ultra speed atmosphere. Heavy as Hell, it seems to come from a world of absolute darkness where all room for hope has been denied any right to exist. And the folly continues with gems such as the super fast "Through Eternity" and "By Demons Bred". One can't help command the technical precision with which each song is executed. Next comes the longest track of the present selection, "Living The Dead Behind". Throughout the years GRAVE have taught the fans not to be deceived by the slow intros they seem to enjoy starting most of their song with. Sure there are some mellow passages here and there, but keep in mind that it never lasts.
These same killer riffs all over the album with mosh-pit anthems such as "Unholy Terror" will make you want to shake your head until it hurts, not to mention the guitars solos, which are simply amazing. But the most impressive aspect of this album is the vocals of Ola Lindgren, who aside from the usual growls turns out to be an unstoppable screaming machine. "Battle Of Eden", despite its slower pace, happens to be one the heaviest songs recorded thus far in 2006. Let's put it this way: There will be no need to distinguish the constant double bass as it keeps hammering furiously throughout the album. GRAVE raise the speed with "Epic Obliteration", but the real surprise comes with the cover of ALICE IN CHAINS' classic, "Them Bones", which sounds as if it has always been meant to be performed this way. As far as I'm concerned it is the preferred version of the track. Next thing you know the set is almost over with the final and title track, "As Rapture Comes", and as always, the same rule applies as it does with every other record from GRAVE: it's too short and with a total length of about 41 minutes only. In the end, it will leave you hungry for more.
It's too bad GRAVE have only released an album once every other year. This one will certainly peel the wallpaper off your walls! Raising the bar extremely high for their American counterparts of HATE ETERNAL and NILE, this album is highly recommended for Extreme Metal connoisseurs.
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