Earthen Grave is a doom metal band hailing from the Windy City, home of my belovedChicago Bears. Hovewer, Earthen Grave is far from just a simple doom metal band, andyou don’t even have to like the genre itself to find this enjoyable. There is so muchheavy, thrashy and an overall dark atmosphere present in this self­titled full­length debut,that it will satisfy the bloodlust of any metal fan. When Earthen Grave sticks into agroove, it is usually centered on a mid­to­slow paced riff with an insanely crunchy guitartone that is just right for old­school heavy metal. This discernible crunch tonesubstantially adds power to the songs. Rachel Barton Pine’s violin is then on fire here.Her work is stellar and her moody, shredding and mournful soloing takes the material tothe next level. She puts on a clinic across all the tracks and I was left highly impressedwith the emotions her playing conveys. In addition, Mark Weiner’s vocals are ratherunique, not very forceful but he is able to deliver a good melody line into the songs.Overall, this is a first class doom metal release with plenty of outstanding songs featuredon it. No self­respecting metal fan should be without this album.

EARTHEN GRAVEEarthen GraveClaude + Elmo Music2013 (Reissue)Composition:Arrangement:Performance:Production:

EARTHEN GRAVE

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