Dutch death metal newcomers, Graceless, hearken to the old school on its fourth outing, Icons of Ruin. The band does not replicate the music of bands lie Morbid Angel, Pestilence or Dismember to name a few. Rather, Icons is fairly straightforward, but features shades of softness and melody to offset the brutal onslaught. “God Shines In Absence” bursts through the gate with a dissonant buildup that explodes in a cacophony of Stockholm style death metal riffing. The track transitions from fast to grooving mid-tempo with lead guitarist Bjorn Brusse unleashing a couple of chaotic leads at the end for good measure. The album settles down from here, as “Sanctified Slaughter” is a no-frills, sludging ogre. It is the second single off of Icons, which makes sense as it trudges forward and speeds things up at the end. “Lash Me To My Painful Death” opens with a dark, discordant riff before the drums pick things up. One can hear the influence of latter era Behemoth on this track, with its tribal drums and haunting black metal chords. “Night of the Slain” returns to death metal territory with its chugging riffs and Remco Kreft’s guttural vocals. The track’s midsection has a hauntingly, serene guitar melody and lead, which breaks up the monotony.
Graceless goes into goth metal territory on “Hardening of the Heart.” The urgent riffs and woeful guitar interludes atop the 4/4 drum beat are akin to Moonspell or Xandria than Entombed or Vomitory. The guitar leads are great, but the track seems a bit out of place on here. “Rise of the Blackest Sun” commences with a dark, regal guitar riff and settles into a nice groove. Jasper Aptroot throws down a subdued, haunting bass line during the midsection, before the band reprises the intro riff. The band continues the dark groove on “A King in the Filth.” The sludge riffing recalls Domination era Morbid Angel, as it feels like slimy tentacles come from the shadows to pull you in to the abyss. “Resurrection of the Graveless” ends the album as it began in pummeling fashion. The band plays the d-beat and throws out some old school riffing. It is the shortest track on Icons and just goes for the jugular.
Icons pulls in several directions. It is primarily a death metal record with old school influences but with modern production values. On the other hand, Graceless experiments with elements of goth, black and thrash metal with mixed results. Graceless shines when it plays in the medium, not overly simplified and not too experimental. Tracks like “God Shines in Absence” and “Rise of the Blackest Sun” are well constructed songs that showcase the band’s musicianship and are not simplified for the sake of being safe. Graceless deserves commendation for trying to expand its sound, particularly on “Lash Me To My Painful Death”, but it drags too long and lacks the overarching darkness that the band presumably aimed for. It is highly probable that the band will improve on its scope for the next release as it is on to something. The production is fine, and the guitar tone deserves particular praise.
Icons of Ruin shows a band aiming high and slightly missing the mark. The album is has enough good tracks to make it worth checking out though. It will scratch the itch for fans of old school death metal or extreme metal in general. Icons will probably stand Graceless’s transitional record, whereas the next one will improve upon this release. A solid effort indeed.
Check out the band’s page here for news and tour dates: https://www.facebook.com/Graceless.osdm/
