Review by Carl on November 10, 2024.

Unholy Grave are an institution. They've been around for about a century or so by now, remaining active almost constantly, dishing out rabid grindcore completely going by grandma's recipe. For a band like this, I can only have the utmost respect, but that doesn't mean that I can't be critical about them.

So let's just throw it out there: the production here sucks, sounding as if it was recorded in a shed somewhere. There's nothing wrong with a rough and gruff soundmix, especially when we're talking grindcore, but when it sounds as thin and dry as it does here, that's going to affect the power that music like this is supposed to emanate. Unfortunately, that's indeed what has happened here. Unholy Grave's primal, old-school grinding madness is for a good part getting neutered by the thin percussion and complete lack of bass, and let's just face it: for a band in the fine tradition of Agathocles, Brazil's Rot and Napalm Death's "Scum", that's just a damn shame. This is the kind of music that needs to come across as a full-force slap in the face, not like someone stepping on your toes and apologizing for it.

Good thing that the music itself manages to pull some of the furniture out of the fire here. What Unholy Grave has on offer is grindcore the way the progenitors showed us: simple distorted guitar riffing colliding with savage blasting and the occasional d-beat, while a raving lunatic is roaring and screaming his woes all over it. The songs are short and violent, while speeding right ahead for the majority of the time, aiming primarily for impact instead of intricacy. There is little to no place for any window dressing like guitar wizardry and melody, Unholy Grave only does fast and loud, and that's about it, really.

Despite the meager overall production on offer, I still like this album quite a lot, because besides being fast and outrageous, this is also thoroughly honest music. I can't imagine a lot of people outside of grindcore circles taking much interest in Unholy Grave and their doings, but those 'on the inside' will know perfectly well what these guys stand for, and that's what counts in the end.

Rating: 7 out of 10