Metal has always dealt in horror to some degree, but it's rare to find a band that live up to the tag and can instill true dread in the listener. It takes something special to do that, and so it shouldn't be overly surprising that a band of the same ilk as Portal and Impetuous Ritual manage to do just that.
In this latest album, the title of which is unrevealed, Grave Upheaval have tapped into a sound that is equally primeval and heinous. The parts become one as each instrument bleeds into the other, resulting in a noxious mud of sound, churning from the depths. Technicality is almost completely abandoned in favor of raw bestiality.
A byproduct of Grave Upheaval's style is the lack of overt song distinction, and a sense of whole songs blending together. For those seeking a veritable selection of tracks in the more traditional sense, there will likely be distaste, but Grave Upheaval seem to be more preoccupied with crafting a prolonged atmosphere that suffocates and terrifies above all else.
That being said, the band reward listeners in the long term. Glacial passages, such as in "II-IV," climb to abrupt storms of freneticism at the head of "II-V," elevating both songs in their impact.
But the real star is the vocal performance, as it becomes the chief, most widely utilized instrument. Guttural roars interplay with a kind of inverted, despairing operatic, all caught in the same echoing cavern of pure sonic monstrosity.
(Nuclear War Now!)In this latest album, the title of which is unrevealed, Grave Upheaval have tapped into a sound that is equally primeval and heinous. The parts become one as each instrument bleeds into the other, resulting in a noxious mud of sound, churning from the depths. Technicality is almost completely abandoned in favor of raw bestiality.
A byproduct of Grave Upheaval's style is the lack of overt song distinction, and a sense of whole songs blending together. For those seeking a veritable selection of tracks in the more traditional sense, there will likely be distaste, but Grave Upheaval seem to be more preoccupied with crafting a prolonged atmosphere that suffocates and terrifies above all else.
That being said, the band reward listeners in the long term. Glacial passages, such as in "II-IV," climb to abrupt storms of freneticism at the head of "II-V," elevating both songs in their impact.
But the real star is the vocal performance, as it becomes the chief, most widely utilized instrument. Guttural roars interplay with a kind of inverted, despairing operatic, all caught in the same echoing cavern of pure sonic monstrosity.
