GraveRipper – Seasons Dreaming Death
Release Date: 25th August 2023
Label: Wise Blood Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Thrash, Blackened Thrash.
FFO: Toxic Holocaust, Midnight, Wraith, Bonehunter, Black Knife.
Review By: Hillary Wisniewski
Coming out of the Midwest like a tornado, Indiana thrashers GraveRipper are ready to rip your face off with their debut album Seasons Dreaming Death. The quartet expanded upon the sound established in their 2021 EP Radiated Remains (I recommend giving this a listen as well). Of this new album, singer Corey Parks states the band set out with the mission in mind to play “…what resonates with us, but also introduce some new arrangements, ideas, themes, and influences. With this being a full-length record there was a lot more room to do that. We introduced more Teutonic thrash worship that teeters on the line of death metal. We also took this as an opportunity to prove we can really play some straightforward malicious black metal riffing as well. All while keeping the overall sonic goal of sewing black and thrash together in our own unique ratio.” Well colour me intrigued; let’s break down this work and see if these boys deliver on the promised goods.
This album straight up shreds! GraveRipper hit the sweet spot in terms of melding together thrash with blackened elements; it is as well-balanced as a fine wine. But let’s be real-this is more of a beer swigging, get in the pit and crack some skulls ass-kicking good time. I feel like we can worship at the altar of old school thrash riffs on this one, but damn if those black metal riffs don’t hit just as hard. Clocking in at around 33 minutes means that the band is true to the punk-driven side of thrash, which is appreciated. These dudes are all solid musicians, but the bass really stood out to me. Chris Pilotte is my type of bass player because he can effortlessly keep up with the frenzied pace of this genre, but can slow things down when needed and keep things tight. On the other side of the rhythm section, Jacob Lett is a flipping beast when it comes to his drumming. Again, nice changing up between thrash and the blast beats we associate with black metal. Keegan Hrybyk (lead guitar) and Parks (rhythm guitar) tear it up and work in some tight, short solos here and there. Vocally speaking, you won’t find the agonised shrieks and cries of black metal on this work; Parks doubles down on a classic thrash vocal delivery, which is carried out well. He keeps it sounding badass, but also manages to have some clear enunciation, too. You can generally hear a lot of growth and expansion of sound on Seasons Dreaming Death compared to the EP.
The biggest critique I have about this album has to do with the production. I found myself wanting a bit more of a raw, organic feel but this is cleaner than one might expect for this genre. I wouldn’t say this detracts from the overall experience, though. GraveRipper delivered on what they promised. It is solid work and hopefully when you give it a listen it will satisfy your little black heart.
(4 / 5)
