Grave Maker-Bury Me at Sea

Bury Me at Sea by Grave Maker (2008-07-22) - Amazon.com Music

Bury Me at Sea

Grave Maker

4/5 Stars

Released: Jul 22, 2008
Label: Think Fast! Records
Reviewed by: Pete Crigler

Coming from Seattle and Vancouver, this hardcore band comes blasting out of the gate on their debut with "Time Heals Nothing," featuring the strong vocals of Jon McRae and the amazingly heavy, almost sludgy guitars of Brian Kemsley, the band shows what influences they have and how they've been able to expand upon them. This lends itself into the next song, "I Won't Belong."

Song after song, the awesome power of Brian Kemsley's guitars and drummer Wayne Peterson make the whole record sound like an attack against all the corporate bullshit that's been poured down our throats, (Boys Like Girls, anyone?).

When the band comes around to "Drop the Torch," undoubtedly the heaviest and best song on the album, their power cannot be denied. This band is here to make a statement and whether you want to or not, you will be drawn into it because of the never ending intensity. Simply put, this band is absolutely amazing and is definitely a band that everyone should keep their eyes open for.

By the end of the record, as the intensity is still at a record level, "The Boatman" comes in and immediately rips everything preceding it to shreds. Powered by bassist Bailey, the band throws down in a way not seen since the rise of the initial hardcore metal scene in the ‘90's.

As the record winds down, the band still keeps everything on an even keel which is phenomenal considering how heavy the rest of the record is. But that being said, the band and this record are one of the best things I've heard all year and it's going to be more than interesting to see what they manage to come up with, next time around. Definitely one of the top contenders for best band of the year.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Let 'em Kill the Cowboy: A Chat with Mark Christian of The Big F

Image
Discography: The Big F  (Elektra, 1989) Patience Peregrine  EP (Chrysalis, 1993) Is  (Chrysalis, 1993) The Big F was formed out of the ashes of ‘80s new wave titans, Berlin. Once drummer Rob Brill and bassist/vocalist John Crawford decided they didn’t want to make music like “Take My Breath Away” anymore, they amped up the sound and their image as well and linked up with well-known session guitarist Mark Christian. After releasing their debut on Elektra in late 1989, the band toured with the likes of Soundgarden and Voivod. After the disappointing reception of their 1993 sophomore disc, Is , the band split. John Crawford is now back in Berlin and Christian leads his own country-rock guitar outfit, Merle Jagger. In May 2022, he graciously set aside some time to talk about the Big F and what that ride was like and what he’s up to now. Pete Crigler: What got you interested in music and playing guitar? Mark Christian: Growing up in Southern California near Hollywood in the 1960s and 7
Read more

The Wondertruck Crashed: The Tale of Mary's Danish and David King

Image
             Mary’s Danish were one of those bands that never made it. They were popular in the L.A. scene in which they were spawned but through a variety of reasons they never hit it big like their friends in Jane’s Addiction or the Red Hot Chili Peppers. What follows is a sad tale of unfortunate errors and mistakes that doomed a really great band to the dustbin of obscurity.              The band formed in the mid-‘80s by a group of friends: singers Julie Ritter and Gretchen Seager, guitarists Matt Colleran and David King and bassist Chris ‘Wag’ Wagner. The band were a little bit of everything including indie rock, alt rock, some surf influences and loads of funk to go around. They blended all of these together in a tasty stew that soon began to attract attention. After working with a series of drummers, Nick Ziegler was drafted in and the band began to attract a heavy fanbase throughout California. The band eventually signed a deal with small independent Chameleon Records and start
Read more

No Woods: A Chat with Stompbox

Image
S tompbox were a hardcore/metal/rock band from Boston. Their one album, 1994’s Stress on Columbia might be one of the more obscure alt rock records that flooded the marketplace but it’s great. A lot of good riffs and plenty of attitude; unfortunately it didn’t sell and the original band were done by 1995. In 2021, in response to a friend falling ill and having massive bills, the band reunited for their first shows in almost 27 years. With this news coming out, I reached out to guitarist Jeff Turlik and he agreed to talk about the band’s history and what this reunion really meant to them. Pete Crigler: What got you interested in music? Jeff Turlik: My grandfather was a guitarist when he was a young man. He met my grandmother at a dance that he was playing. This was in the 1930s. When I was a little kid, my grandmother filled our house with musical toys…organs and pianos, horns, drums, you name it. When I was 11, my grandfather taught me a few chords on his guitar.   My brother wa
Read more