To The Grave
Everyone’s a Murderer – Unique Leader Records
There’s a school of death metal that is turning away from the Dawn Of The Dead,cartoon-type horror that characterised the early scene in favour of societal and environmental issues. And let’s face it, reality is far more horrific than anything found on celluloid and when combined with the sound To The Grave create, makes for a truly terrifying experience. Their latest album, Everyone’s a Murderer,ups-the-ante somewhat to deliver ten tracks of uncompromising extreme metal (with the emphasis on extreme). Vocalist Dane Evans leads the charge, delivering a versatile performance that finds him unleashing demonic growls or squealing like an animal in a slaughterhouse and when coupled to the dissonant brand of death metal in which the band deal, attacks the listener without remorse. Yet, the band are far from generic and will throw breakdowns in at the most inopportune moments, just to keep listeners on their toes; ‘Gas Chamber S.T.’ has an otherworldly quality that belies its title, while the addition of clean vocals from guest singer ‘Sophie Wilcher’ on ‘One Four Eight Six’ makes an interesting counterpoint to the brutally heavy sound. It’s said that hard times make hard music, well here’s the proof.
Review by Peter Dennis.