Not much is known about Sweden black/death metal crew Grave Heresy. The usual details such as date of formation and band history are strangely absent and to further muddy the water, each of the four members use a ferocious pseudonym. All I can really tell you about this bunch of malcontents is that two band members play in the equally mysterious Death Epiphany. Of course, this has the benefit of bringing the band’s sound to the fore and Incineration Victory is a brutal, warlike attack that’s hard to ignore.
‘Intro – Sarmat Dawn’ is a discombobulating soundscape that appears to be recorded in the bowels of Chernobyl nuclear reactor. It is dark and disconcerting and has no easy point of reference, it just gives off the feeling that it might explode at any moment and therefore it racks up the tension exponentially; each second that passes could be the time when everything blows, and that moment arrives in the shape of ‘Attenuating The Flesh Threshold’. With an unearthly scream and an insanely fast blast beat Grave Heresy make their presence felt, but to be honest, they’re kind of hard to ignore. Aided by a clear production (that in no way detracts from the band’s raw power) Incineration Victory is a truly terrifying listen. Like being in the middle of a swarm of bees, the band attack from all angles; the guitars are razor wire around your cranium, the drums punch the solar plexus while the bass, low down and nasty, is bowel loosening. With very little space between tracks an oppressive air is created and this only adds to the band’s visceral assault, there’s no quarter given as the band deliver a succession of heavy blows, each beating the listener into a bloody pulp (but in the best way, of course).
I hope my review hasn’t made Incineration Victory sound one-dimensional because Grand Heresy have plenty of tools for war in their armoury, and the title-track finds them slowing down the gears, delivering a dirty, grinding brand of death that brings to mind Bolt Thrower in their prime before ripping things up while the following ‘Ageless Onslaught’ swings like classic Suffocation. Yet, at whatever speed or tempo the band operate, the result is always unrelenting and by the time we hit final track ‘Warhead Worship’ we’re left feeling spent and the silence that follows is indeed like a nuclear winter.
As the world continues to hurl towards global war, Grand Heresy are here to create the perfect soundtrack.
- Incineration Victory is released via Godz Ov War Productions and is available now (from here).
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Track List:
- Intro – Sarmat Dawn
- Attenuating The Flesh Threshold
- Christ Unpermanence (Attrition Hammer Of Anti)
- Onset Of Hexakosioihexekontahexaphillic Conquest
- Incineration Victory
- Ageless Onslaught
- Mass Death Proclamation
- Summoning Of Sulphurist Hordes
- Warhead Worship
