ALBUM REVIEW: Peace – Graveyard

After forming from the still warm ashes of the band NORRSKEN in 2005, a break up that would see the forming of two of the most influential underground rock bands of the last 10 years, GRAVEYARD played no games in sealing themselves firmly in the role of bringing bluesy fuelled retro riffs to the forefront of underground hard rock for the last 13 years.

After a brief break up towards the end of 2016 due to ‘all so classic reasons’ and the unfortunate departure of their drummer Axel Sjöberg, GRAVEYARD announced their reunion in January 2017 and have clearly wasted no time sculpting yet another album packed with their trademark, heavy rock and roll intertwined with blues and a healthy dose of psychedelic sounds. By December last year, GRAVEYARD had announced they would be gracing their fans with a new album, a follow up from their 2015 release Innocence and Decadence, by March this year the band had revealed the album would be entitled Peace. 

The first track from the new album, titled It Ain’t Over Yet, is a perfect opener to any hard rock record, throwing listeners straight into a heavy riff and a heavy vocal masterpiece. GRAVEYARD‘s trademark bluesy sound doesn’t show its face during the opening track too much, however it’s a great song and will definitely reel in any listener, old or new. If nothing else, it will smash any preconception that GRAVEYARD aren’t ‘heavy’, this track is a shining example of one of the many things the band is fluent in, shattering ears with some proper old, hard, fast rock. After that, the album delves straight back into what most fans know and love about them; stoner blues influenced noise with string bending solos.

The first single from the latest record, Please Don’t, gave fans a true feeling of what was to come on the forthcoming record, whilst slightly moving away from the more bluesy psychedelic sounding tracks. Guaranteed to fill the three year long void in fans lives with Joakim Nilsson’s defining raspy vocals and the band’s heavy rocking riffs and solos, this is proving that GRAVEYARD are well and truly back.

Peace slows down briefly three tracks in with a slow, deep and emotional track See the Day, something they are clearly no stranger to with previous emotional hitters such as The Siren and No Good, Mr Holden. Some fans will undoubtedly get flashbacks to these older songs during Del Manic, a slow bluesy journey guided by Jonatan Larocca-Ramm’s heartfelt riffs, ending with a trademark solo.

GRAVEYARD have clearly come back with a purpose and were nowhere near done rattling the bones of their fans through vintage vibrations. Peace moves from strength to strength and despite maybe not being seen as their freshest, most innovative album, it’s guaranteed not to disappoint listeners. They may be stuck in the 70s in regards to their sound and overall image, but they certainly keep moving forward, disregarding the brief scare of a permanent break up, showing no signs of stopping anytime soon and Peace is definitely a testament to that.

Rating: 8/10

Peace is set for release on May 25th via Nuclear Blast Records.

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