DEGRAVE - Volume
Horror Pain Gore Death Productions
For the past couple of decades metal bands have had an easier route to explore. If you want to, a band can pursue a genre style that has a huge ready made fanbase. Or you could include variety to your music and forge ahead. The latter path is the hardest and honestly half of the bands which do that make it. Unless twenty years later some label reissues their music and you get schmucks in music groups posting "Dude this band was under rated."
Which brings us to this four piece act hailing from Jefferson City, Missouri. This is the third full length from DEGRAVE who started out back in 2016. I actually learned about them in 2018 with their second album which was their self titled full length. At that time DEGRAVE were a full on thrash revival type band, think METALLICA and MEGADETH. They wore their influences on their sleeves as well as their music. But the bottom line, unless you're jaded, is that it sounded cool.
Fast forward to today with this latest release and sure the tagline is still thrash but they sound much more than that. The influences they've taken on since I last heard em are still old school but into a different direction. Still there's plenty of props to give em because of respect. For starters DEGRAVE have the audacity to open off this release with a two and a half plus minute instrumental. I mean whatafuck is this 1987? I'll give em props for that.
Second prop is calling your album Volume. Yes as ironic as it may be you have to blast this release. Yeah this band has balls for that one. But next up comes the wild part. Their vocalist has taken on a more caustic hardcore singing style. He now reminds me of Kurt from DRI. "Volume" is a great cut which is more amazing hellish metal than a tagline to a genre. And after that it gets all crazy.
DEGRAVE switch around from hardcore to thrash and toss in plenty of bass lines for pit action. The metal guitar soloing is a defining compromise to the competing styles. Add to that some death metal touches as well as proggy tech elements. For the most part this album comes across as a precursor to an amazing live set. I believe this is more in the vein of MUNICIPAL WASTE then MEGADETH.
https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/
LISTEN HERE:
https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/volume
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