ALBUM REVIEW: Open Roads – Deeper Graves

DEEPER GRAVES is the one-man band from Jeff Wilson of CHROME WAVES fame. Moving away from the metal sound, the band show off their softer side through influences from JOY DIVISION and many others with their debut full-length offering Open Roads. With a range of genres spanning from post-punk to alternative, listeners would be forgiven to think that this is a full band recording instead of just one man. Despite only being six songs long, this album has up to forty minutes of music, but will it be enough to be considered a success?

Final Divide kicks off the album. With a runtime of seven minutes and twelve seconds long, the introduction to the song is a minute long. The pacing is slow and haunting and the vocals are very powerful, due to becoming almost opera like during the rising of the tempo. Despite it being slow, the pacing fits the tone of the song. This, in turn is due to the excellent production by Wilson himself. As well as being a talented multi-instrumentalist, he is proving to be a talented producer as well.

Leave This World is a smooth transition. Despite being thirty seconds shorter than the opening song, it feels like a continuation of it. It is a pure instrumental track, allowing the audience to truly appreciate the instruments of the record. The drums carry the song, with a marching band beat. The shortest song on the record, mid-way track, Ode To War, is vocal and instrument heavy. Taking on a rockier tone, the band show that they have no limits on genres. The vocals have a militant style to them and they fill the room, commanding the audience to listen.

Open Arms is a mixture of pure instrumental and having vocals. The first half of the song lures the listener in with its calming instrumentation that send the audience into a trance. The vocals are quiet, and barely audible. This is a running theme throughout the final three songs. It is a nice touch, as it therefore makes all the songs smoothly transition into one another. The production is nice and simple and the pacing of the album is not rushed, and is easy to listen to.

In conclusion, despite the lengthy song run times, Open Roads is a strong debut effort. The production is excellent, the songs are well-crafted, and DEEPER GRAVES sound like a band rather than a one-man act. This is a stunning debut record that’ll delight fans old and new.

Rating: 9/10

Open Roads is out now via Disorder Recordings.

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