Regrouping after the tragic passing of vocalist Makh Daniels, EARLY GRAVES does Makh proud with one of the coolest releases of the year, Red Horse.
With THE FUNERAL PYRE’s John Strachan taking over vocals, the band storm through eight songs of metallic hardcore (i.e. CONVERGE), Stockholm death metal with some thrash and grind thrown in. A nice pinch of dynamics and diversity are utilized to color and flavor Red Horse, which helps it stand out from the crowd. Instead of just blasting out fast, heavy songs the entire time, EARLY GRAVES mixes things up (i.e. epic intros, acoustic guitars outros, balls out guitar solos, different moods) just enough.
While all the fast, heavy songs are all good, the moody “Death Obsessed” and “Quietus” stand out the most. The slower tempo and unique riffing of the former give it space to breath and really build up slow crescendo at the end. “Quietus” features powerfully somber, instrumental song section, which closes out Red Horse. You can feel the sadness of the band in the melodic lead guitars as the band fades out. Truly a powerful song.
Red Horse rages with the best of them but distinguishes itself by its dynamics and dark, somber atmospheres. Good shit. (No Sleep Records)
