The most distinct initial impression fans of Second Grave will hear is how Benthic Realm moves. Gone are the long, slow builds that Krista Van Guilder fronted once before in that aforementioned doom outfit replaced with the urgency of a fresh band on the road towards some truly righteous gloom rawk. [Read more…]
It’s not often that heavy metal has the perfect combination of ear-crunching music and pristine vocals. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Second Grave play to a sparse crowd at Ralph’s earlier in the year when they managed to hit that mark. Their new EP Antithesis promises not to disappoint.
Krista Van Guilder has a croon that calls to mind the timbre of some of metal’s greatest vocalists in a way that’s distinctly feminine and entirely satisfying, while her deep-throated scream is no joke. Her guitar combined with Chris Drzal’s, counterpointed by Dave Gein on bass and Chuck Ferreira on drums results in delightful headbang anthems. Breakdowns are executed expertly and perfectly timed for horn-raising catcalls from live audiences.
Do yourself a favor and add them to your library; there’s no way you’ll be disappointed. If you’re local to the Boston area, get your ass to the Middle East November 30th to see them with Summoner, Rozamov, and Jack Burton Vs David Lo Pan. I’ll be the one up front screaming my face off with glee — bring me a gin ‘n’ tonic and we’ll be pals for life.
Getting out of the desert and into the swamp, Summoner’s latest album Atlantian probably has more in common with Black Sabbath or Deliverance-era Corrosion Of Conformity than Kyuss. The opening wall of riffs on “The Gatekeeper” is a good indicator of what the rest of this eight track masterpiece holds as it builds and builds upon a slow monolithic groove. It’s almost as if Summoner took “Dead Moon” from Phoenix as a template for Atlantian and went nuts.
Atlantian is a different beast altogether though. The closest this one comes to the raw fury that Phoenix brought is the spiritual cousin to “Winged Hessians”, “Horns Of War”. That’s not to say that Atlantian is a slouch by any means. Far from it! While Phoenix’s spacier moments went into the ether, the grooves here go straight for the jugular by incorporating some extra crunchy riffage throughout.
The main thing that Atlantian proves is that Summoner is constantly expanding their sound. Whether it’s the Geezer Butler-like bass line that opens “The Prophecy” or the sonic maelstrom which sounds an awful lot like some old school Metallica riffing that’s a precursor to the title track’s eventual slow burn, Atlantian continually astounds, surprises, and adds to Summoner’s musical repertoire.
Atlantian is available on November 19th through Magnetic Eye Records. Pre-order yours here. If you’re in the Boston/Cambridge area, be sure to check out the record release at the Middle East upstairs featuring some other local favorites like Jack Burton Vs. David Lo Pan, Second Grave, and Rozamov on November 30th. Event and ticket info can be found here.
Grade: A