I was recently fortunate to see Graves in concert, something which is going to stick with me for quite a while, as it was a real experience, with volume being used as a weapon and a totally uncompromising approach. Here is a band who mix aggressive punk hardcore with Napalm Death-style grind to come up with something which is totally uncompromising and brutal in the extreme. I may have caught them just a few months ago, but this their debut was released as long ago as 2012. Just five songs, and ten minutes in total length, this is still available from Graves as a 7” vinyl release or can be downloaded from Bandcamp where it is a free download.
What strikes one from the off is that the single word titles of “Husk”, “Cleric”, “Greed”, “Graves” and “Bastards” lets one know that this Auckland band are out to push boundaries, yet while one may think this is all aggression, heads down and meet you at the end, there is actually a great deal more going on than that. They understand the need for dynamics, so while there is plenty of whiplash riffs and sore necks, there is also room for slower sections, and behind the attack there is a great deal of melody going on. Napalm Death are an obvious influence, but more mid-period than ‘Scum’. Myself and guitarist Josh Hughes had a long conversation before the gig, discussing the importance of Discharge, Nasum and Swans as well as attempting to agree on what is the finest Napalm Death release (we failed), and although there have been a few line-up changes over the years he and drummer Allan Lachlan have been there since the beginning, and they show no sign at all of slowing down.
For people who want their music to be brutal, yet with hidden melody within the aggression, then this is a great place to start.
Rating: 8/10
