ALBUM REVIEW: Sanctified Heathen – Grave Next Door
Formed in 2018 by brothers Patrick and Anthony Salerno, GRAVE NEXT DOOR are a murky, dirty and old school stoner metal band. Rather aptly, the Michigan band got their name because the brothers lived next door to a graveyard. This has clearly left an indelible mark on the band’s music as they deal in the sinister and macabre alongside themes of personal struggle and the various aspects of death. With influences ranging from BLACK SABBATH to BLACK FLAG, Sanctified Heathen is raw and distorted, no fancy production or overdubs, just straightforward unfiltered old school stoner metal. Rough round the edges, doom-laden and visceral, Sanctified Heathen is one for the purists.
Given that this is the band’s debut release, GRAVE NEXT DOOR have no qualms about delving deep into their own pain and suffering, converting it into raging riffs and unleashing it upon an unsuspecting global populace. This morbid exploration into addiction, mortality and war set to the backdrop of extreme fuzz and distortion, Sanctified Heathen really is a sonic assault that comes at you from all sides. Individually, each song brings its own unique grimness, and the album as a whole carries despair and sorrow heavily upon its shoulders, with a significantly cold and bleak outlook on life.
The band’s aim to capture their live energy through a raw late 70s/early 80s inspired sound, and the policy to never put anything on an album that they can’t play live, has certainly been achieved. The album’s raw honesty is part of its nonconformist charm, breaking away from the cleaner, psychedelic tendencies of modern doom and stoner metal. GRAVE NEXT DOOR strip the genre back to its bare bones, getting back to the deep, rotten roots of what stoner metal is.
However, the album is not without its flaws. Sanctified Heathen is packed with groove laden riffs and sludgy heaviness, but there are moments where the album lacks any real punch or weight. There is a strangeness to it; Sanctified Heathen sounds like a live album without the audience, or a promotional demo. This could be something to do with how the album has been presented in production terms. It is hard to ignore the sometimes jarring mixes and occasional misplaced sounds, more specifically the audible mouse clicks at the beginning of As Heavy As Texas and Charnel House. Some songs are dominated by an over-zealous vocal mix which takes the sting out of the riffs, with the riffs themselves being left out in the ether in the far left and right of your headphones. Whether this was a creative choice remains to be seen, but it takes significant power away from the riffs, giving them a lesser impact on the listener. On occasion the drums sound like they’re hurtling towards you down the same narrow central channel. Whilst the punk D.I.Y philosophy is at the core of this album and it is very much admired, these small discrepancies interrupt the album’s otherwise balanced flow.
Despite this, GRAVE NEXT DOOR’s song-writing has a distinct and strong direction. This is a band that knows who they are and they back it up with confidence. As Heavy As Texas demonstrates the band’s significant BLACK SABBATH influence. Long droning chords are underpinned with a steady traditional rock beat and a moving, groove focused bassline. The album’s closer Nuclear Winter is a heavy, primal song that feels like a sledgehammer to the skull due to its driving, steady rhythm and disorientating solos. Bloody Nuns erupts with sinister fervour, bearing down on you like nun possessed by Satan himself, menacing smile and all.
Even though Sanctified Heathen doesn’t break any new ground and is a somewhat middling album, its various punk elements give it an edge amongst its contemporaries. The band certainly have clear aims and objectives and know exactly what sort of band they want to be. Whilst GRAVE NEXT DOOR’s debut will not be to everyone’s tastes, it certainly shows some potential in song-writing terms.
Rating: 5/10
Sanctified Heathen is set for release on January 28th via Black Doomba Records.
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