Tuesday, February 28, 2017

GRIM RAVINE - The Light is From Below review



GRIM RAVINE - The Light is From Below

Black Bow Records




I wouldn't say this English sludge act is breaking any new ground on this their second release. But to their credit this four song EP will be like manna to any fan of dark dense grimness that some others in this genre have chosen as a path. Yeah that would be me since I love crawling death doom like sludge. I hate the wanna be hippy shit that's invaded the genre. I hate happy bands with their colorful cover artwork. And yes I hate BARONESS.

Of the four cuts on here only one, "Translunary", strays from the formula of darkness, albeit still within the grey area. The band also adds a slight atmospheric reprieve on the final cut "Vacant Mass". The vocals are definitely in the black metal vein of cavernous grunts and harsh shrieks. But it's the massive crushing riffs that push this over the top.

The opener "Shrine of Misery" is like a beast rising out of the depths to crawl upon the land in order to feed of it's dwellers. "Hypernova" follows suit but slightly up tempo. All in all this is a decent release. I've listened to it a dozen times in the past two days so I'm kinda thankful of the band's choice of a short format release. It keeps things interesting and within theme. Anything longer and boredom would commence plus it would feel like a mass of ideas shoved down the listener's throat. 

Rating: 5/5 

http://www.blackbowrecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/grimravine

https://grimravine.bandcamp.com/

No comments: