The power of the riff is important in most forms of metal (though certainly not all), but it’s perhaps especially vital in forms of traditional occult doom and stoner metal. A band in those related genres can go a long way riding a well-muscled riff steed, especially if they can mess with your mind while they’re moving your head. The Brazilian doom metal band Dirty Grave have proven that on their debut album, Evil Desire.
They self-released the album as a digital download back in mid-July as a two-man band (vocalist/guitarist Mark Rainbow and guitarist Victor Berg), but now the Belarusian label GrimmDistribution and the British label Todestrieb Records are joining forces to give it a CD release on October 18. We’re highlighting one song from the album today — “Until the Day I Die” — with a new video for the track. And we’re also able to report that drummer Arthur Assis has re-joined the band, and that the trio are now at work on a second album
Visions of Pentagram, Sabbath, and Saint Vitus may enter your head as you listen to “Until the Day I Die“. It’s a mid-paced head-mover in its opening minutes, propelled by thick, icy-cold, but primally compelling riffage and by drum and bass rhythms that are just as head-nodding in their effect. As you might expect, the vocals are clean — but also unclean. They’re nasty and gritty, as well as very effective in helping carry the melody.
The music gets nastier, too. When the pace slows, the song oozes pestilence and putrefaction, and then it becomes, hazy, narcotic, and spectral, with a deep dive into psychedelia thanks to a guitar solo and the vocalist’s rising wails. But you’ll get one more chance to move your head before the trip ends.
Enjoy “Until I Die” below, and we’ve also included the band’s official video for the album opener “Satan’s Wings“, which will give you a taste of Dirty Grave when they step on the accelerator.
Pre-order:
https://grimmdistribution.bandcamp.com/album/014gd-dirty-grave-evil-desire-2017
https://todestrieb.co.uk/
Dirty Grave:
https://dirtygrave.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/officialdirtygrave