Some people like to start their morning with a strong cup of coffee. Yet others prefer to take a walk, to get the juices flowing. Me? I like to absolutely cave my face in with caustic, unrelenting, blackened thrash. I don't know, there's just something about abrasive riffs and monstrous vocals that gets me going in the wee hours of the day. Luckily for me, GraveRipper have made it their mission to supply me with all the razor-sharp noise I need. Ever since I stumbled on their 2021 EP when I was researching an entry for the now dormant Flash of the Blade (I have plans for its comeback!), I've had GraveRipper's octane heavy music not far from my rotation.
Now, the band are gearing up for yet another salvo with their new release, Seasons Dreaming Death, due for release on August 25th via the brilliant Wise Blood Records. I am beyond stoked to premiere "Premeditated" from that upcoming release, so let's get right down to it!
Hell yeah baby, that's what I'm talking about! "Premedidated" is made up of the relentless groove that's guided GraveRipper before but everything is bigger and better. I absolutely love the thick, redolent bass tone that the instrument's grumble to the bedrock of this track. Layer on top of that those buzz-saw sharp guitars, the antagonistic vocals, and the breakneck drums, and you've got everything you need for a ripping track. However, there's also a lot more melody introduced to GraveRipper's sound with this one, with much of it lying in the aforementioned and lauded bass. You can hear it on the guitar riff as well, drawing some inspiration from melodic black metal sounds and ideas. This adds a lot of color to GraveRipper's sound, nicely complimenting the aggression with texture and depth.
As mentioned above, GraveRipper's Seasons Dreaming Death drops on August 25th. Head on down below to the band's Bandcamp to pre-order and prepare for the assault!
Sleeping Villager