Grave don't change. They are old-school Swedish death metal; their first album, Into the Grave, was released in 1991, and though they took a brief hiatus at the end of the 1990s, when they came back, they sounded almost exactly the same: guttural, croaking vocals; downtuned, chainsaw guitars; a deep, almost detuned bass sound; and punk rock drumming with little of the intricacy traditionally identified with death metal. Their latest CD is a pleasing dose of the same punishment fans have been enjoying for almost two decades, with songs like "Dismembered Mind," "Sexual Mutilation," and "Bloodtrail" telling tales of horror and savage violence over fast, blasting rhythms and riffs that cut deep. When
Grave initially returned, on 2003's
Back from the Grave, they adopted a midtempo, death-march pace, but they've really gained a second wind on subsequent releases, and many tracks here are blisteringly fast. Interestingly, this album also finds the band coming full circle in a way, as "Sexual Mutilation" is a never previously recorded track from one of their earliest demo tapes. ~ Phil Freeman