•
Rating: While in the United States and especially in Florida, the so-called "Old School" Death Metal was already established for a couple of years, in 1990 the Swedes Grave released their seminal debut album "Into The Grave", a gem that is unfortunately too often forgotten (also because of subsequent performances not quite up to the debut) but that would fully deserve and be worthy of being reevaluated and respected for what it is and for what it’s worth.
Taking inspiration from what was heard from American Old School, Grave fused it with elements such as super-heavy and downtuned guitars and essential rhythms, often simplistic and never too elaborate, kept in check by a simple and perhaps for this reason pleasing rhythm section, composed of a sufficiently incapable bassist, Jonas, and a shaggy drummer, Jensa (the undoubtedly natural adjective refers to the excessive amount of cranial hair that makes him absolutely ridiculous).
The innovation of Grave, driven by anger, a desire to emerge in the now varied Death landscape, and particularly inspired in songwriting, lay in alternating, a thing that had never happened until then, parts of pure and absurd speed with decidedly more epic segments and almost martial tempo, overturning the idea of Death Metal seen as a “speeded up form of Thrash,” meanwhile collecting the slowdown of the track to insert easy, slow and not very technical solos, but not trivial (except for some exceptions that really smack of deja-vu) with some truly interesting insights, hiding the technical deficiency of the guitarists, who certainly would not have been able to do faster or more elaborate solos.
The combo, formed by Ola on guitar, the respectively bassist and drummer Jonas and Jensa, and the singer/guitarist Jorgen Sandstrom (later in Entombed and nowadays also engaged with Krux) truly offers us a deadly, powerful album, with downtuned guitars, simply terrifying growl (it’s the most evil I’ve ever heard), sustained drums and bass, but you see, imperceptible (luckily, I almost dare say).The songs that compose the album are still complete in almost every detail, never repetitive except for the reproposition of some riffs in some songs in a slightly modified/accelerated form.
Nothing to do with the genre defined as Heavy Classic Death Metal by Entombed, which in the latest “Inferno” strangely mix Black Sabbath with Morbid Angel with a result, in my opinion, very bewildering, but compositional inspiration, creativity, and originality, that overshadowed certain blatantly obvious borrowings.
As Jorgen Sandstrom now says, evidently feeling nostalgia and the call of the past, "looking at the album now, I really notice how the opener “Deformed” is one of the most wicked and brutal openings I’ve ever heard along with “Infernal Death” by Death and “Into The Crypts Of Rays” by Celtic Frost.” How can you disagree, “Deformed” is probably the most beautiful track of the album, but still historic pieces like “For Your God,” inspired by ritual sacrifice, "Oscure Infinity," the magnificent title-track, and the simply stunning “Haunted,” where some melodic hints can be noticed that would be picked up by Jorgen in the subsequent Entombed, go to accompany “Deformed” and look it straight in the eyes.
Also to be appreciated is the idea of Century Media that magnanimously decided to include in the Remastered version of the album some unreleased tracks like “Tremendous Pain” and songs of the album recorded, however, in demo sessions.
I point out the useless lyrics, which in some ways refer to Behemoth, in others to Decapitated and still others to Cannibal Corpse, still keeping active the torch of satanist Death Metal (Oooh, wow, they are Satanists, how cool, they are really transgressive...But spare me! Learn from Chuck!).
A work maybe not very original, but still enjoyable and long-lasting: trust me, once digested it will be very difficult to remove it from the player, and you’ll only take it out to put on some other masterpiece!
("Human" by Death ring a bell?)
Until next time!
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Deformed (04:07)
Wired by the smell of death
As your end is drawing near
He make yo cry he make you bleed
But you feel no fucking fear
God won't wake you from your sleep
Banished from life
the stinking air
Drastic suffering,
you are deformed
DEFORMED
Your screams fill the stinking air
Painful death is waiting you
God won't wake you from your sleep
Banished from life
the stinking air
Drastic suffering,
you are deformed
Revolting face
putrid remains
One eye left,
bloody hands
Banished from life
the stinking air
Drastic suffering,
you are deformed
05 Hating Life (03:02)
As you're lying for your death
and wait for the sign, to walk through
The portholes to achieve eternal life
Soon to change your life to face the
truth that life after death is a lie
Hating life, your faith has died
Now when your end is near
you enter the dark
you feel the pain and want to die
So where is your light
and life after death
It's into the grave
eternal rest
Where is your light?
Where is your god?
Where is your eternal life?
Ashes to ashes
dust to dust
into the dark
into the realm of death
Hating life, your faith has died
06 Into the Grave (04:08)
Enter the gates, gates to madness
You feel that the end is near
you know that your end is hear
Shadows from hell reflect in your mind
into the darkside you go for eternal rest
Winds of death are blowing cold
annihilated earth is what it leaves behind
Funeral in the night, open grave
Your coffin stands open, your face is pale,
servants of the dark are taking you into the dark soil
You descend your soul
into the darkness, into the grave
Your life on earth belongs to the past,
into eternal death, your faith has died,
into the darkness, into the grave.
Face the death, look him in the eye,
you can't turn back once you've come this far.
Pray for your life to a non-existing god,
realize that it's over.
Into the darkness, into the grave
Your life on earth belongs to the past
into eternal death, your faith has died
Into the darkness, into the grave
07 Extremely Rotten Flesh (04:35)
Bodies rotting
faces dark
sent in forever fear
all your flesh will rot
Rotten corpse,
dead in cruelty and pain
to end up in this special way
Extremely rotten flesh
Trapped in a wooden case
slaughtered at birth you died
the fault of a deformed face
you have to die
Bodies rotting
faces dark
sent in forever fear
all your flesh will rot
Rotten corpse,
dead in cruelty and pain
to end up in this special way
Extremely rotten flesh
10 Inhuman (03:52)
Walk the last steps of the face of the earth
Dismembered bodies, fallen victims of decay
Fallen from above, prophecy of death
Agonizing torment to wipe out the inhuman
Shattered shreds of life, tearing my inner side
Rise from the turf, as my guts regurge
Procession to the wise, gasping to survive
Mutilated stiffs, desecrating tombs.
God of all life and humanity
Slayed by evil conspiracy
Putrefying all of the remaining life
Dismember his body as you watch
Shattered shreds of life, tearing my inner side
Rise from the turf, as my guts regurge
Procession to the wise, gasping to survive
Mutilated stiffs, desecrating tombs.
Now you will die
As you take your final breath
Visions appear
From the darkest death
Walk the last steps of the face of the earth
Dismembered bodies, fallen victims of decay
Fallen from above, prophecy of death
Agonizing torment to wipe out the inhuman
Shattered shreds of life, tearing my inner side
Rise from the turf, as my guts regurge
Procession to the wise, gasping to survive
Mutilated stiffs, desecrating tombs
Loading comments slowly
