Gravehill/The Unchaste, The Wicked, & The Profane/Dark Descent Records/2018 CD Review

 Los  Angeles  California's  Gravehill  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  their  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "The  Unchaste,  The  Wicked  &  The  Profane"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Dark  Descent  Records.

  Dark  yet  melodic  sounding  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  which  also  takes  the  music  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  bringing  in a   great  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with  the  vocals  being  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  along  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  also  being  used  at  times  as  well  as  some  songs  mixing  in  elements  of  thrash  and  they  also  take  an  80's  and  90's  style  and  make  it  sound  more  modern  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  and  the  album  closes  with  a  track  that  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Gravehill  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  their  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics cover  Occultism,  Murder,  Revenge  and  Death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Gravehill  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Bestial  Genesis"  "Plague  Hammer"  and  "D.I.E".  8  out  of  10.

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Gravehill/Death Curse/Dark Descent Records/2014 CD Review

  Gravehill  are  a  band  from  California  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  that  mixes  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  together  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Death  Curse"  which  will  be  released  by  Dark  Descent  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  dark  sound  effects  and  synths  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  fast  and  raw  sound  along  with  blackened  death  metal  screams  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  old  school  melodies  and  solos  which  also  leads  up  to  some  growls.

  When  the  album  gets  onto  the  other  songs  slower  riffs  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  music  while  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  fast  parts  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  at  times  they  also  bring  in  a  few  seconds  of  synths  and  as  time  goes  on  by  the  bass  guitars  start  sounding  a  lot  more  powerful  and  on  one  of  the  songs  there  are  some  back  up  gang  shouts  being  utilized  and  on  the  last  song  they  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples.

  With  this  album  Gravehill  stick  to  their  trademark  sound  and  still  have  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  approach  their  blackened  death  thrash  that  was  present  on  previous  recordings  and  this  album  is  heavy  from  beginning  to  end.

  Song  lyrics  Darkness,  Occultism,  Satanism  and  Blasphemous  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from Gravehill  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Curse"  "Unending  Lust  For  Evil"  and  "Crucified".  8/5  out  of  10.

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Gravehill/When All Roads Lead To Hell/Dark Descent Records/2011 CD Review

  Gravehill are a band from California that has had their previous album reviewed in this zine that plays a style that I would describe as being a mixture of black, death and thrash metal and this is a review of their 2011 album "When All Roads Lead To Hell" which was released by Dark Descent Records.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with a lot of brutal sounding blast beats, while the bass playing is kind of mixed down low in the mix and seems to follow the riffs that are coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast riffs that combine influences from black, death and thrash metal with some morbid sounding melodies being utilized at times, while the lead guitars are very distorted sounding underground metal guitar solos in the mid 80's to Early 90's vein.

Vocals are a mixture of black metal and blackened death/metal screams that also have German thrash feel to them and some deep death metal growls as well as samples from films, while the lyrics cover Satanism, Occultism, War, Killing and Metal, as for the production it has a very heavy and raw feel to it.

In my opinion this is another great album from Gravehill and if you where a fan of their previous releases, you will not be disappointed. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Unholy Executioner" "Devil Worshiper" "Hell Metal Holocaust" and "Consumed By Rats". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Gravehill/Rites Of The Pentagram/Metal of Death/Ibex Moon Records/2010 CD Re-Issue Review

 Gravehill are a band from California that plays a brutal mixture of black metal, death metal and thrash and this is a review of their 2009  album  "Rites Of The Pentagram" which also has "Metal Of Death" included on it with this album being released by Ibex Moon Records.

Drums are mostly fast with a lot of brutal blast beats throughout the album,while the bass playing has a powerful tone that is very easy to hear on this album and it follows the riffs that are coming out of the guitars and there are some samples from horror movies being used throughout the album.

Rhythm guitars mix elements of black metal, death and thrash together with alot of fast and catchy riffs being employed throughout the album and there are also some slow and heavy riffs thrown in to give the music a good balance, while the lead guitars are very distorted sounding solos that bring back memories of the mid 80's and early 90's and there is also a small amount of classical guitar that makes the music sound even more darker.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal sounding growls that also are influenced by the classic death/thrash bands of the mid 80's with some deep growls and back up vocals, while the lyrics cover Satanism, Luciferion, Occultism, Death Metal, Anti Christian, Dying, Murder and Hatred, as for the production it has a very raw and heavy feel that captures the brutality of all of the instruments and you can hear all of them on this album.

In my opinion Gravehill are a very good band that brings back the memories of the classic black, death and thrash bands into modern days, and if you a fan of bands that mix these elements together you need to get this album in your collection. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Pissing On Your Grave" "The Luciferian Mark" "Purifier Of Flesh" and "Ravager". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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