Time Signature Late for an early grave...

Genre: doom/hard rock

Pentagram released "Last Rites" in 2011, and the following year the mythical Pentagram-related act Bedemon released their doom metal masterpiece "Symphony of Shadows", and this year sees the release from another musician with ties to Pentagram - namely, Victor Griffin and his band In-Graved's debut.

While Pentagram and Bedemon are more on the doom side of things, In-Graved pursue more of a hard rock-driven sound, albeit one that does display some doom tendencies, as heard in the heavy bridge, of the otherwise bluesy 'Fading Flower' as well as in 'Love Song for the Dying'. Tracks like 'Digital Critic' and the classic 'Late for an Early Grave', which has figured in Victor Griffin's inventory of compositions for a while, are more uptempo, while 'Thorn in the Flesh' combines heavy grooves with folk-inspired passages. This particular track is extremely well put together.

The guitars are incredibly heavy and have a nice fuzzy edge to them, which definitely adds the doomy aspect that the album doubtlessly has. A stable element is a 70s-tinged organ (provided by none other than former Trouble drummer Jeff "Oly" Olson) which serves to add a further layer of texture in the background, and this goes well together with Griffin's bluesy voice.

With nods towards the likes of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath, but also retaining the darkness of heavy blues and groovy Southern rock, In-Graved's debut is a very successful tour de force in dark and heavy hard rock and should appeal to fans of Pentagram, Bedemon, Trouble, Black Sabbath and Witchfinder General.