Grave Next Door - Sanctified Heathen Review

Generally speaking album covers have many things to do with the music within. The fan can have an idea of what kind of music the band wants to pass with the image its components choose for the cover. Not a rule whatsoever. This one here starts by the tittle “Sanctified Heathen” which has nothing to do with the album cover. I mean the subject of the album cover is too modern when compared with the music Grave Next Door perform. What the fan will find here is a 1970s inspired Doom Metal or some may call it stoner. I don’t know. To be really truth I don’t really know the difference. But the outcome is heavy as hell. Heavy as hell as the album cover if my dear fan pays close attention to it. I guess to many it will be some kind of blasphemy or something related, if you know what I mean. Black Sabbath are the clear influence of the album with a vocal whose tone of voice reminds a lot Twisted Sisters’ Dee Snider’s and Uriah Heep’s keyboards. As I said heavy as hell combination.

Musically “Sanctified Heathen” is pretty varied to an album from a Doom Metal band. There are lots of cadence and tempo variations and the low-tuned guitars give here a special taste because the guitars have those brutal amount of distortion – or overdrive if you may. Of course, shoegazed tracks are always present as “Witch Head” but the guitars here give it a pleasant and satisfying taste. Also do the drums. To highlight the hypnotic effect of the track there is a break in the middle of it that is remarkably gloomy and shiny – if those two are possible together. As I mentioned hypnotic the sense in all tracks leads to this sense. Grave Next Door managed so well to keep the pace and intent in all tracks. Stoner here means that the fan will get stoned with all the hypnotic influence of tracks as “Heavy as Texas,” which is by the way a hell of a tittle, isn’t it? Guitarist Salerno delves as he wills through the dark and gloom tones of his guitar.

“Sanctified Heathen” is an album for the fans who are into Heavy Rock, Doom Metal or even Stoner Metal whatever this means. The muswic is heavy as hell – or Texas – maybe both. Now I know that I was a little irresponsable to simply compare their music top Black Sabbath’s but as the French say “c’est la vie.” For the record it’s much more.

Grave Next Door “Sanctified Heathen” will be released on March 18th via Black Doomba Records.

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