Now THIS is fucking death metal. Groovy, punishing, over the top, and chock to the brim with gnarly song titles Crushed Skull Moon is a thrilling demo from these death metal masters. Coming seemingly out of nowhere, Graven Maul are Californias answer to the new wave of old school death metal. This is a band who perfectly understand the balance between dialing back into a punishing breakdown and then going for the throat with thrashy balls out riffage. Fusing the sounds of everyone from Minor Threat to Coffins, it makes for an addictive listen.
What gets me about Crushed Skull Moon is how tracks like Violence Is The Highest Law reflect just how good Graven Maul are as songwriters. The satanic phalanx of sound roaring out of my speakers right now conjures up wonderfully bleak images of times best left forgot. It forces you to come to terms with the darker side of humanity and rebel in the demented murk that has come to define our lives in 2018. In a world where nuclear war seems to be a looming possibility, Graven Mail rub our face in the asphalt of harsh reality. Bitter, cold and always willing to go for the throat, this is what death metal should be about.
There is a unique melodic sensibility to this band. The absoutely massive guitars on a track like Festival of the Crushed Skull Moon conjure up Lovecraftian images of pure hatred and force you sink your teeth into something you might not have found so appealing to look at. You will get lost in this record, this is the sort of band who hit you with riff after riff, every single one a punch in the gut but with enough variance as to remain fascinating. With just a touch of rock and roll magic, Crushed Skull Moon is going to leave you scraping your jaw off the floor.
Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/GravenMaul/
Pre-order the record!
https://redefiningdarknessrecords.bandcamp.com/album/graven-maul-crushed-skull-moon
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