Conducting From the Grave return with their self-titled third/ LP It’s been three years since their last release and the band return better than before, giving predecessor albums a run for their money. The band is more ground-breaking heavier than before, producing an album that is unrelenting and heavier than a ten ton hammer.
Kick starting with ‘Honor Guide Me!’, you seem to already know where this album is going. No more than a minute into the album and you are either going to love it or hate it. Filled with heavy riffs, blast beats and some insane vocals, everything here fits perfectly. And you’d be mistaken if you think that they are going to loose their ferocious pace. With more velocity than a NASCAR race, the band shreds, blast-beats, screams, growls and beats their way through tracks such as ‘Lycan’, ‘The Harvest’, ‘Into the Rabbit Hole’, ‘Dante’ and the instrumental masterpiece ‘The Calm Before…’. Each song here is fast, aggressive and terrifying whilst still remaining a joy to listen to. Not to say that the album is repetitive, in fact, it is far from it. Each song on the album offers something new, taking the band that one step further, pushing their own limits and showing us all what they are capable of doing.
It’s sheer aggression but with added clean vocals. The cleans are a high-light on the album, constantly tricking you into thinking that the album is dying down and running out of its power before suddenly coming straight back into its aggression all over again, hitting you with more force than a wrecking ball. It’s ballsy and yet pays off, leaving an astonishing mark in your mind. The album closes with ‘Monster (Part III)’. This is the third part of the ‘Monster’ song series that the band started at the end of Revenants with the two tracks ‘What Monsters We
Have Become Pt.1’ and ‘What Monsters We Have Become Pt.2’. The track is exactly as its title suggests; it is indeed a monster. Being an impressive addition to a great series of songs, the third installment makes you feel satisfied with, not only the album, but the ‘Monster’ series too. It’s a great closure for a great album and it
may just be an album that earns them a little more recognition from labels.
The production on this album is also something that is a stand out. Seeming as quite a few self-released albums normally suffer from bad production, this is something the band should have some great pride in. Although it should be no surprise seeming as fans of the band all chipped in some money for this effort, raising a huge amount for the album to be made. Everything here works. The velocity of the drums, the chugging of the guitars, the heaviness of the bass and the ferocious amount of terrifying power behind the vocals. It’s an album tha feels complete, it feels like the band has actually took a lot of time with it instead of just rushing an album to release. And it feels like the right time to release it too. This is an album that is sure to not disappoint fans with everything feeling like it was placed in the right position.
So then, after nearly three whole years and a lot of support from fans, Conducting From the Grave have made a terrifying death-fest. This is how modern Death Metal should be and this could be the start of the band going in their own direction instead of conforming to a labels regulations. It is heavy yet well-crafted, terrifying yet beautiful and an undisputed piece of fantastic Death Metal. This could be an album that garners a lot more listeners but it will definitely please their fans.
For a self-released effort, this is truly amazing. It’s like being struck by lightning the moment you press play, it is that furious and that damned powerful. I’m not going to say it is the best album of the year, the astonishing one or the one that will leave the biggest impact in your mind but it is the heaviest and most certainly does not disappoint. If you know them, you’ll love it, if you don’t then you may just one to give it a listen.
9.5/10
-Asa