Grayceon - IV

By Justin C. Grayceon, at full tilt, sounds like the work of at least seven people, but in reality, they're a trio. Drums, guitar, and cello. There are other metal bands out there that use violin or cello, but for my money, none of them makes it sound as

By Justin C.

Artwork by Pelham Houchin III.

Grayceon, at full tilt, sounds like the work of at least seven people, but in reality, they're a trio. Drums, guitar, and cello. There are other metal bands out there that use violin or cello, but for my money, none of them makes it sound as seamless as Grayceon does. They do this not by burying the cello in the mix, using it sparingly, or treating it like a guitar or bass replacement. It's always present, fully integrated, regardless of whether it's carrying a melody line or working as rhythm.

You'll see the band described vaguely as "progressive," but as in many cases, that's just for lack of a better description. On their newest, IV, the slithery guitar riff that opens the album in "Sliver Moon" does have a proggy feel, but it's meaty and catchy in a way that a lot of so-called "progressive" metal doesn't touch. "Scorpion" goes for a more straight-ahead rock/doom feel. The lyrics, "She waits like a scorpion, finding the perfect time to strike" might not be the most original metaphor, but Jackie Perez-Gratz's soaring, harmonized clean vocals elevate the line. The whole song puts me pleasantly in mind of classic Heart, if not exactly in sound then definitely in spirit.

Perez-Gratz doesn't just stick with clean vocals, either. "Let it Go," which in lesser hands might be a cheesy ballad, is energized by her vicious screams of "LET GO!" competing with the chorus. Contrasted with the cleanly sung "When you find the one you love, don't let go," it's a bit of a mixed message in terms of dating advice, but it's very effective music. The contrast, plus the lovely melody and pure earnestness is hard to resist.

If I had one nit to pick--and it's a small one--it's that the band occasionally adds what I'll call "codas" to songs that don't really need them or don't have the length to support. I feel like "Scorpion" wants to be a straight-ahead, straight-to-the-point rocker, but one can be tricked (as I was) into thinking the band has moved on to another song when it ends with a slower movement, and "Sliver Moon" uses a similar structure. The musicianship is nothing short of stellar in the main parts of the songs and the codas, but they feel just a touch disjointed in songs that are only around the four-minute mark.

That said, I can't imagine anyone who liked their previous work not liking this album. Though no huge departure from All We Destroy, IV gently incorporates some of the changes found on Pearl and the End of Days. There's a refinement and a polishing you can only get with talented musicians collaborating for well over a decade. They've been a bit quiet for a while--this is their first new material in 5 years--but even on first listen of the promo, I was immediately sucked back in by their charms.

Morgengrau - Blood Oracle

By Steven Leslie. Unspeakable Axe is quickly becoming one of those labels that elicit a blind buy for me. Through a serendipitous combination of similar musical taste and an impeccable level of quality control, literally everything they have

By Steven Leslie.

Artwork by Nick Keller.

Unspeakable Axe is quickly becoming one of those labels that elicit a blind buy for me. Through a serendipitous combination of similar musical taste and an impeccable level of quality control, literally everything they have put out in the last few years has impressed. Their most recent release, Blood Oracle from Texas Death Metal crew Morgengrau, is certainly no exception. Comprised of members whose background includes killer underground bands like Hod, Plutonian Shore (whose newest release is worth checking out as well) and Trench Warfare, their pedigree is certainly not in question.

Blood Oracle offers up 36 minutes of no frills, meaty American styled death metal with a hint of black metal atmospherics which adds a sinister edge to their compositions. A key factor in the album’s success is that every aspect of the music is crafted with the song in mind. This isn’t an album where the technical prowess of the guitarists or the inhuman drum displays will steal the show. Instead, every instrument works in tandem to create a super tight, but not soulless, seething behemoth laying waste to everything in its path. Equally impressive is the band's ability to incorporate other elements into their core style. Whether it’s the doomed out pacing of the aptly named “Poised at the Precipice of Doom”, the thrashy intro to “Forced Exodus” that could have come straight off a Testament album, or the vocal rasp and blackened atmospherics of album opener “Blood Oracle”, Morgengrau showcase a deft hand at incorporating interesting and unique flourishes to their solid death metal base.

Erika Morgengrau’s vocals also deserve a big shout out. They immediately reminded me of a slightly more death metal Laurie Sue Shanaman of Ludicra, never a bad thing. Morgengrau manages to strike that perfect balance between intensity and clarity, allowing the occult drenched lyrics to shine through and drive a compelling narrative through each of their songs. The production also works well in their favor – clean enough to allow their tight performance to really shine without sapping the human feel that is essential to this kind of music. If there is one "complaint" to be had it comes down to the bands consistency. While there are no bad riffs on this entire album, the high general quality means that very few segments or songs stand out amongst the whole. So while I genuinely enjoy the album every time I listen to it, by the end I am hard pressed to point out a truly memorable song or riff. Its but a small price to pay for an otherwise excellent record.

Do yourselves a favor and snag Blood Oracle, and while you are at it, spend some extra time browsing Unspeakable Axes Bandcamp page. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Grave Upheaval - Untitled

By Bryan Camphire. Among those who till the soil, it is said that the government and the weather are the two most unpredictable things with which they must contend. Powerful machinations and elemental forces are two things that propel the music of Grave Upheaval

By Bryan Camphire.


Among those who till the soil, it is said that the government and the weather are the two most unpredictable things with which they must contend. Powerful machinations and elemental forces are two things that propel the music of Grave Upheaval, especially so on their second untitled record. Grave Upheaval conjure up a sound entirely of their own governance, going so far as working in their own invented language, the sigils of which are included in the packaging of this release. The music pelts its way against the windows of your reality, a storm that no amount of preparation could abate.

When I first heard the record, midway through the third song I thought a small child had fallen down the stairs in my house. My pulse still quickens slightly each time I hear that scream. The vocals on this record are harrowing in the extreme. This might have to do with the fact that the lyrics are concerned with sciomancy, a form of divination through communing with spirits of the dead. In a recent interview, the group tells of the first song herein consisting of a curse upon the graves of priests, rendering them unable to rise in the event of Revelation. Suffice to say that Grave Upheaval goes several steps beyond the heap in their attempts to conjure forth music that is corrosive and blasphemous.

A trinity of contemporary death metal has come from down under, with Portal as the father, Impetuous Ritual as the son, and Grave Upheaval as the unholy ghost. The ritualistic music on offer here is as much concerned with texture as it is with tune. The rumbling guitars suggest gaping hideous spaces. The drums scrape against and bore into the music. Often times these tools play perverse games with time. If the guitars play fast, the drums go slow and then this reverses. But not always. Things are seldom as simple as they may seem on this record. A beat gets subtracted without warning, rendering the proceedings off kilter and all the more sinister as a result. Baneful calls echo as though suspended in a state of falling, endlessly careening deeper into an unfathomable abyss.

It is darkness where light never existed, oblivion, the number zero. These are some images that may come to mind when you listen to the music of Grave Upheaval. The ominousness of their music is conveyed through chants, low frequency bellowing and knotted rhythms. Their very name suggests an unnatural reversal of death. It suits them. Theirs is a sound from the beyond, a violent harbinger played in reverse.

Throughout the course of eight tracks in just under an hour, Grave Upheaval further their music to new extremes. It's a cavernous sound, often imitated but never duplicated, and on this record, through clearer production choices, the blacks only get blacker. Clamorousness cloaked in reverb empowers this music much in the way that villainy gains strength in shadows. Six feet below the surface, this band has no use for titles. This is music that we mere mortals may not make complete sense of. What is clear is that this is a poisonous concoction and it is rising.