UMUR
"The Sea Grave" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Spanish, Catalonia, Barcelona based death metal act Graveyard. The album was released through War Anthem Records in March 2013. Graveyard have existed since 2007 and have a string of minor releases and their debut full-length studio album "One With The Dead (2009)" behind them.
...and it´s obvious that these guys are already relatively seasoned. They are a tight playing unit and they deliver their music with great conviction and passion. Stylistically the music on "The Sea Grave" is old school death metal to the bone. I hear references both to the Swedish, Stockholm scene and to the US old school death metal scene and acts like Deceased and Autopsy. With songtitles like "R'lyeh I" and "The Visitations of the Great Old Ones" it doesn´t take a genius to figure out that the lyrical themes on "The Sea Grave" evolve around the H.P. Lovecraft Cthulhu mythology, but also other occult and morbid themes.
In addition to the 8 "main" tracks on the album, "The Sea Grave" feautures three shorter interludes (titled "R'lyeh I, II and II") and the 2:13 minutes long instrumental "In Deep Slumber". They all work as atmosphere enhancers and little breathers between the crushingly brutal death metal tracks. The songwriting is top notch for the genre with good variation between blasting, mid-paced brutal grooves and doomy sections. The well played guitar solos deserves a mention as they often work as the icing on the cake. The growling vocals are deep and bordering unintelligible, but I´m able to catch a phrase here and there.
"The Sea Grave" is a very well produced affair. The sound is powerful and clear enough to hear every intrument in the mix yet not clinical and clean. It´s actually very raw and provides the music with the right filthy and gloomy sound. Old school death metal releases often come out sounding retro for the sake of it and lose points on the authenticity barometer on that account, but the music on "The Sea Grave" sounds honest and although a lot of old school death metal clichés are on display here, these guys are very skilled songwriters, able to put just enough semi-hooks into their brutal songs, to make them leave an impact. Fans of old school death metal with a filthy, gloomy and morbid atmosphere should take notice here. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.