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Graves at Sea, "Documents of Grief"
Originally self-released in 2003, Graves at Sea’s short album of sludgy stoner doom peaks in all the right places. While their approach may not be shockingly different from their peers, they don't waste any opportunities to pummel the senses.
Titles such as “Black Bile” and “Praise the Witch” are pretty much par for the course, as are the throaty, pained vocals that garble lyrics into incomprehensibility. Yet the band does other things that elevate them above average practitioners of such vile metallurgy. The medium tempo riffs have a familiar proficiency but are never monotonous. Instead, they’re fused with a good sense of dynamics that keeps them lively and entertaining without resorting to filler.
They also have a couple of extra touches that point to some grander ambitions. The end of “Red Monarch” finds them adding weird ray gun sound effects to the mix, while the ending of “Black Bile” devolves into a strange, airy loop suggesting a hazy realm of slyly disembodied voices. “Wormwood” also ends with a looping swirl, like a tunnel into another dimension. As far as the growling vocals go, the band includes a lyric sheet to help decipher the madness.
While themes of addiction, the ashes of civilization, and redemption through death’s release are hardly unexpected, they’re executed with such emphasis and passion as to make them cathartic and convincing. Since it’s only 30 minutes long, the disc is much too short yet it whets the appetite for more material.
