This is a little bit of an unusual review, as Second Grave broke up not too long after releasing this record, Blacken the Sky, making it both their first full-length as well as their swan song. And that’s really a shame, because Blacken the Sky is a hell of a lot of fun to listen to. Everything you need to know about the band hits you by the two and a half minute mark of the album opener, an eight minute banger called “No Roam.” You get slow, deliberate drums along with heavy, thick guitar and bass, a lovely, mournful lead, and then a quick tempo change that ushers in Krista Van Guilder’s slightly smoky vocals for a verse before she really opens up her pipes for the wide-open, hooky chorus. As soon as it hit, I knew I would love this record.
I know someone might find it sacrilegious to talk about hooks in metal, especially for a band that bills itself as a stoner/doom outfit, but the riffs are there and it’s impossible to not turn it up and bang your head. The hooks and choruses are just good, smart writing, and I love it. From opener “No Roam” the record grooves and wades through riff after crushing riff. Half of the songs run around six minutes while the rest, like “Afraid of the Dark,” stretch out and meander in the sprawling way stoner bands often afford themselves. I found this to be a good mix, and the long cuts don’t just repeat the same riff until the sun finally dies. Instead, they feature enough changes in mood and direction to justify the luxuriant running time, but not so many as to become esoteric.
“Bloodletting” is the mid-album standout, rife with memorable riffage and featuring the harshest vocals on the record for the choruses. It’s tempting to want more harsh growls and screams, but Van Guilder’s epic cleans are too much a part of the character of this record to give up. Track seven, “Death March,” is the climax of the record: just over eleven minutes of everything that makes Blacken the Sky great and nothing at all to detract from the experience. The next full-length song is both the closer and the title track. It serves as an epilogue: the walls of guitars, bass, and drums are here replaced with a single, clean guitar and soft, lush vocals. The sparse, reverb laden track is an almost ethereal coda to the burly bulk of the album, and as the guitar sustains its last chord and the final reverb trails on the vocal fade I found goosebumps on my arms.
This is a fantastic parting gift from Second Grave, and I hope the various members continue to make good, heavy music.
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HUGE drums, riffs, and fat bottom end...for something so heavy, it's also melodic and "catchy". Cool arrangements and, really, great song craft.
Sadly, they broke up.
I can’t agree with your assessment of this record enough-it seems to have been overlooked, largely, due to them breaking up. I saw them live a few times, and they crush live as well. Their songs have interesting parts, and like you said, “hooks”, instead of the same tedious (and sometimes boring) droning on and on.