Gravrose/The Caretaker/2019 Full Length Review

  Gravrose  are  a  solo  project  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  an  improvised,  raw  and  primitive  form  of  black  horror  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2019  album  "The  Caretaker".

  A  very  fast  and  raw  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  chaotic  style  when  they  are  utilized.

  Dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  and  early  2000's  influences.  All  of  the  songs  are  also  improvised  along  with  the  synths  also  capturing  the  atmosphere  of  a  horror  movie  soundtrack  when  they  are  utilized,  one  track  also  introduces  clean  playing  onto  the  recording  and  at  times  the  music  also  gets  ritualistic  sounding  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  demonic  growls  can  also  be  heard.

  On  this  recording  Gravrose  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  improvised  sounding.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  seances,  rituals,  haunting's,  graveyards,  and  horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Gravrose  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  improvised  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "At  The  Entrance  Of  Feather  Lane  Cemetery"  "In  The  Overgrown  Fields  Where  Headstones  Rest"  and  "The  End  And  It's  Promise".  8  out  of  10.

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Gravrose Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

Gravröse is a project by myself, Axtherius. I wanted to do raw, primitive and vile black metal that stray away from the over produced emotionless mainstream black metal.

2.So far you have released one album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?

I wanted to put emphasis on creating a brute force of hateful black metal. No more, no less. Aimed to connoisseurs of underground metal.

3.The lyrics on the recording are a concept album dealing with haunting's and ghostly creatures, can you tell us a little bit more about the songwriting?

Yes you are right. Before I recorded the album I spent some nights in an isolated abandoned house with no food, just some to drink. It put me in a almost mad, hallucinating state. I started to see things and started to write down the lyrics. Then I went in the studio as soon as I left the house to record the material in one day. I was tired and frustrated and I really think it added that extra atmosphere of purity to the recording.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ’Gravrose'?

Gravröse means cairn. I thought it was a fitting name for the project and went with it. It has several meanings to me.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?

The artwork was made by Tim Nordstedt who also played session drums on the album. It is an abandoned house on Gotland, Sweden. I think the artwork turned out great and really fitted the albums material.

6.With the exception of a session drummer you recorded most of the music by yourself, are you open to working with a full line up or do you prefer to work solo?

No, not open to work with other musicians.

7.You also had a couple of quests on a couple of tracks providing some keyboards and lyrics, can you tell us a little bit more about their contributions?

Tony Stark who runs Beastmaster Management is a friend of mine and since he is a keyboard player I asked him to put some extra touches on one song. I think it turned out well.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Actually the album will be released on Gate Of Horror Productions and perhaps another label as well. It should be out fairly soon I hope.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?

Just after the release on bandcamp I got contacted immediately by 3 labels plus interviews started to arrive so I think there are some interest out there for Gravröse.

10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

I don’t see anything except continuing my quest of recording more albums. If its appreciated, its nice, if not, that’s fine too.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Mainly underground black metal that probably no one has heard of. I listen very randomly these days. I can’t tell you any specific bands.

12.Does Occultism play any role in your music?

Yes for sure.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for the interview. Look out for the debut album of Gravröse to be released soon on CD but for now you can pick up the album on bandcamp if you are interested.

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Gravrose/The End Street Terror/2019 Full Length Review

  Gravrose  are  a  solo  project  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  raw,  primitive  and  haunting  form  of black  metal  while  also  using  a  session  drummer  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2019  album  "The  End  Street  Terror".

  A  very  dark  horror  movie  orientated  intro  starts  off  the album  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction.  During  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams.

  A  lot  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  Swedish  style  as  well  as  having  influences  from  other  areas   while  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  A  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording,  one  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  keyboards  and  on  the  closing  track  the  music  gets  very  ritualistic  sounding.  The  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  lo-fi  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  dealing  with  haunting's  and  ghostly  creatures. 

  In  my  opinion  Gravrose  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  primitive  and  haunting  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "From  The  Dark  Corners  They  Watch"  "Loud  Footsteps  From  The  Empty  Attic"  and  "Invoking  The  Restless  Spirits".  8  out  of  10.

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