Gravehill / Mordbrand - Skullbearer / In Nighted Waters

GRAVEHILL / MORDBRAND - Skullbearer / In Nighted Waters (DOOMENTIA Records Split LP 2016)

Cool split with Gravehill and Mordbrand was released few years ago, but I admit that I did let it get covered with dust and haven't played it even once, until some time ago. That's the result of "I buy too many records" illness, I am afraid. But it's better late than never, as they say. And so Gravehill and Mordbrand ripped some guts with this piece of 12" vinyl! And I am absolutely happy that I finally gave a chance to this record, because it shreds.

I don't think I've ever had a chance to hear anything from Gravehill before, which is definitely odd, since they already have four albums and are part of Dark Descent roster, which always means a high quality release. But for some reason, I only knew Gravehill by name... until the day, when I bought and started to play their part of split LP with Mordbrand. I have to say these four songs from them are killer. Gravehill plays kind of mixture of everything - there's black, thrash, death, some may even hear a bit of speed or heavy metal, as these old school styles of metal are always very connected (unlike the modern styles of metal). Material on "Skullbearer", with its sound and attitude, reminds me some Aussie bands for sure, with that vicious, savage, raw style of classic metal. It is relentless, pissed off, satanic and aggressive as fuck. If you like Gospel of the Horns or Destroyer 666, then Gravehill will be up your street for sure. I could also mention US bands like Nunslaughter for the whole picture, why not. I love the riffage, the atmosphere of the music, I also like the fact that despite being so vicious, the music is fairly memorable. It's kind of music, which you play and immediately want to bang your skull, have a beer and just have some fun. I also like J.T. Corpse vocals a lot... and my favourite songs? It can be "Upon the 6th Chime", as I love that blasting part in it and the chorus is also pretty badass. All in all, great recording and I definitely need to search for some other Gravehill releases.

I don't know how many reviews I already did for Mordbrand, as this is one of my favourite new(er) Swedish death metal bands. Well, another one won't do harm, right? On the other hand what else can I write about their nasty death metal? Well, generally their style is more aggressive and much less melodic than many other Swedish bands. If I had to, I would put them aside to bands like Grave, Paganizer, Facebreaker, which all have that very recognizable Swedish sound, but whose music is more straight forward and heavy from the classic Swedish sound of Gorement, Excruciate or God Macabre. On this split Mordbrand prepared four songs plus a cover of Dutch weirdos Bluuurgh... and I think that "In Nighted Waters" is one of the strongest recordings from Mordbrand. Their own songs kick ass, there's fantastic feeling in their music, great riffs, a lot of energy that bursts from the speakers, when the music is played loud, especially from "Cold Womb", which is a fast motherfucker. Some parts of their split sound a lot slower though, even a bit more groovy, what reminds me Grave's mid 90's albums, whose I'm not big fan of, if you believe. Just give a listen to "Parishioners of the Bleeding (Storm Against Creation)" for instance. But Mordbrand sounds great and their cover of Bluuurgh... is also not bad at all, even though I'm not big fan of "In My Embrace" album.

Great job then from both bands, Mordbrand again proved how good they are and Gravehill turned out to be a massive surprise for me and I am definitely going to search for their other recordings. This split was unleashed by Doomentia Records, but since it is sold out I think, then your only chance to find it is Discogs.

Standout tracks: “Cold Womb”, "Upon the 6th Chime"

Verdict: 80/100