Album Review: Gravemass – This Is The Way (End Game Records)

Emerging from the depths of the West Coast metal scene, Gravemass is a death metal behemoth that unites alumni from Zimmers Hole, Punch Drunk,3 Inches of Blood, Revocation, Just Cause, West of Hell, Savannah, Process, and The Golers. Their debut album, ‘This is the Way’, will be released on March 6th, 2026, via End Game Records.

Well now, isn’t this one hell of a supergroup? Love the term or loathe it, here it really does count, especially as far as the Canadian metal scene goes. Gravemass are here, and with them comes a vitriolic death metal release that takes elements of the genre’s old-school ferocity and blends it with modern groove and energy. A release that clocks in at just under thirty minutes, ensuring it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Though there’s no short-changing here as we have ten tracks and across them a cacophony of violent, snarling, hyperactive blasts of heaviness that will thrill all those who love extreme metal.

I’m one of them and Gravemass really do it for me. I think this is a beast of a record and found myself compelled to head-bang almost all the way through it.

Hitting with the force of an out-of-control bus, Slaves to Pain will leave a garish grin on the faces of many death metal degenerates. The groove of the instruments, backed up by vocals that alternate between guttural horror and howling savagery, makes for a wild listen and then along comes the title track to deliver something daringly anthemic. I shit you not. I think this track is catchy, sort of, even if the drums are trying to bust the eardrums.

It just gets better and better as it goes on too. With the likes of Horned King, Harvest of Souls, Spitting Hell, Black Bell, and Fallen delivering track after track of stomach churning, bowel loosening, headache inducing death metal heaviness. It’s the kind of horribleness that you can’t turn away from, tapping into humanities fascination with the macabre.

Gravemass are one of the most exciting new death metal bands out there, even if a lot of what they offer here has the putridity of an older carcass or two. Not the band, the genre. Although saying that, there’s no way the likes of Gravemass wouldn’t cite the legendary band as an influence, amongst others.

Still, I’m not thinking about others when I’m with them and even though it’s over far too quickly, I’m left super satisfied. How could any of us come away disappointed by something as delightfully groovy and grim as the self-titled track or something as furiously intense as Abandon? Just listen to the blast beat drumming on the latter to see what I mean when I use the word intense.

So, what finishes things up? The ring of a bell, the howl of the wind, and an explosion of roaring and riotous heaviness. Fucking A.

Gravemass – This is the Way Track Listing:

1. Slaves to Pain
2. This is the Way
3. Horned King
4. Harvest of Souls
5. Spitting Hell
6. Black Bell
7. Fallen
8. Gravemass
9. Abandon
10. Poison Temple

Links

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