Graveworm - Killing Innocence

Graveworm – Killing Innocence
Release Date: 28th April 2023
Label: AFM Records
Pre-Order/Pre-Save
Genre: Extreme Metal, Thrash, Death Metal, Gothic Metal.
FFO: Cradle of Filth, Satyricon, Agathodaimon, Dark the Suns, Rotting Christ.
Review By: Mark Young

Album number nine from Graveworm as they spew forth their blend of Thrash, Gothic, and Death Metal.

Looking online at their bio, there has been 8 years since their last release, but there is no ring rust here. This is a collection of songs that fit that gothic genre well, with equal amounts of melody and pummelling metal that means you can absorb each track. Whilst it might not be anything new, it is performed with gusto and with a sense of pure enjoyment. None of the songs are overlong, all are pitched at just the right length without being repetitive. Being nine albums in, they know how to provide an engaging listening experience and temper just using speed to get their songs across. The use of keys is there as a tool rather than having it for just effect.

There is melody and in turn some fine arrangements on display. They avoid any major pitfalls in going too slow, wisely maintaining a minimum tempo which keeps It chugging along. There are also the vocals, that switch between a traditional Black Metal shriek to a Corpsegrinder bellow, which works incredibly well and adds a great tone to it.

Starting with Escorting the Soul, there is a rising instrumental then kicks in and whoosh, we are away. Following tracks settle into a steady overall pace, with moments of insane speed included as they see fit, as opposed to just hammering you with full on attack. A great example of this are the tracks We are the Resistance and Wicked Mind, which lean into the gothic melody and provide enough of the fast stuff to keep it interesting.

Real standouts for me were Dead Words, which is halfway in, and they throw this wonder in. Everything here is on point – the phrasing, arrangement, the lot, and is a creative high point here. It’s not the fastest or heaviest track, but has that something about it, that elevates it above the rest here. Where Agony Prevails where the pace is well and truly picked up here, and in the same way as Dead Words. Again, this possesses that something that really stays with you after that first listen.

Ending the album with the one-two of Wrath of Gods and In Honour of The Fallen, they just go for broke. Wrath of Gods has some nodding head at the desk action and will translate so well into the live moment, it just blasts through into final track In the Honour of the Fallen, which again has the head nodding once more. This one brings the album to a satisfying close, with uplifting guitar parts set against some great riffing. It’s not mad technical, it’s all about the emotion conveyed. This is a class album, check it out.