Grava – Weight of a God
Release Date: 28th November 2022
Label: Aesthetic Death
Bandcamp
Genre: Sludge, Doom Metal, Death Metal, Hardcore.
FFO: Neurosis, Celeste, Buried Inside.
Review By: Rick Farley
An album of songs seen through the eyes of the dying. A truly onerous task to pull off for any band lyrically and musically, let alone a newly formed one in 2020. Danish blackened sludge bearers Grava do just that with the release of their crushing debut album Weight of a God, releasing on Aesthetic Records. Full of vein bursting heaviness, densely mammoth atmospheres and vocals shifting from anguished hardcore yells to gravely death metal growls. The immense weight of this album genuinely conveys being crushed by crumbling walls that once towered a great kingdom fallen to the atrocities of man.
Every song on Weight of a God, is an attempt to depict the inevitable meeting with one’s death through lyrically historical narratives or just execrable human experiences. Such as the last moments of shipwrecked men as the icy waters fill their lungs on album opener Waves. Low tuned open notes ring out over thick bass lines, submerging the listener. Niels Asger Svensson (vocals, bass) lays down a low ended foundation as heavy as the swelling seas tearing apart the ship. Tremolo picked melodic chords mimic the swaying uneasiness of water smashing into your face as you violently drown. Thoughts of the terrified men come through in the tortured vocals, freezing, helpless and about to die. Appian Way lyrically is about six thousand crucified slaves who stood up to the Roman Empire and lost. Unsure clean guitars, burst into monster distorted walls of guitars of the same melody. Blackened and utterly nasty sounding, (vocalist, guitarist) Atli Brix Kamban pulverizes with trudging guitar ferociousness. You can feel the heaving power of an empire behind the lofty riffs, bludgeoning all hope. Alight was inspired by a story of a woman burnt at the stake for heresy. Engulfed in flames, she curses her tormentor. Disgustingly heavy riffs drive this track in an unnerving groove. Slow, chugging guitars ablaze with flesh melting intensity. The apocalyptic hammering drums from Casper Axilgård and deathly growls with tortured raspy background screams from both vocalists, create a staggeringly sorrowed and horrifying atmosphere, unforgiving of the hell of being burned alive.
Recorded and mixed by Troels Damgaard and additional recording by Lars Lundholm at Black Tornado Studio. Mastering by Brad Boatright of Audiosiege. Excellent job all the way around in making this album sound like a hulking beast with clearly audible layers and textures. In this case, the masterful production is an additional instrument that further emanates this distressing experience.
Weight of a God is a harrowing listen, uneasy, and challenging. The might of doomy droning, painfully immersive and staggeringly heavy music, executed by skilled musicians. There are fits of black metal melodies over behemoth thick bass lines, while bits of hardcore intensity shine through. This alone makes for an interesting listen, but Grava’s use of bleak storytelling and musicianship concerning song writing is the reason to keep coming back. Truly unnerving emotional heft is felt within these songs. Moments of beauty just barely touching the surface of blistering sludging brutality.
At seven songs and barely twenty-eight minutes, Weight of a God ends way before it should, teasing at much more but not delivering the full scope of what’s expected. This is my one complaint for an otherwise amazing album. However, don’t let that detract you from absorbing this. Grava is an otherworldly force of colossal annihilation that’s definitely worth your time.
(4 / 5)
