Album Review: Callus – Gravis Decennium (Trepanation Recordings)

Hailing from Preston, in the UK, Callus fuse stoner metal with thrash, sludge, and doom to create something monumentally heavy. On May 10th, they will release their third studio album, ‘Gravis Decennium’. A tenth anniversary speciality of earlier material fully re-recorded with crushing new production to celebrate a whole decade of Callus.

If you want an indication of how far this band has come in the last ten years, then this album will give it. Featuring re-recorded tracks from their 2017 EP, ‘Through Blood, Sweat, Piss and Pain’ and their 2019 album, ‘Hogpocalypse’. The Callus of 5-7 years ago isn’t quite the same Callus of now, and even their 2021 album, ‘A Breath of Flesh Air’ was a notable step-up.

That doesn’t mean these earlier tracks were bad by comparison, rather, it’s more about making them all they could be, and that is certainly the goal Callus set out to accomplish here.

Following the dread-infused Lovecraftian intro of Yog-Sothoth, Callus take us back to the Hogpocalypse with The Primordial and Infinite Beef Machine. The meatier vibes, and clarity within in all the instruments, ensures this release is already a winner. Appealing to old fans as better versions of banger tracks, and appealing to new fans by being groovy, heavy, and quite filthy. That they retain the rawness of the originals is pretty damn special.

Something that continues into the first of the Through Blood, Sweat, Piss and Pain tracks, Cycloid. The riffs in this track are awesome, but the vocal improvement is where it’s at. The second of that EP’s tracks is The Root of all Evil And it’s one of the more expansive and intense efforts with some deep and dark horror undertones. Something enhanced by the fresh production. Nowhere on this album are the improvements shown better than with these two beastly efforts.

The rest of the album comes from Hogpocalypse, and we have Callus leaning into their Lovecraftian side again with The Dunwich Horror, focusing on eerie melody at first, but erupting like a sore with heavy instrumentals as it goes on. Then, causing some carnage with the brash intensity of Leg Slice. Before getting really creative with Dreameater, a great example of how they can get a little trippy and make stoner metal work so well with heavier elements.

It’s a great album that some may think is not necessary listening at first, but will come to realise it really bloody is. You can never have enough Callus, and their goal to make these tracks all they could be is well and truly realised.

Callus – Gravis Decennium Track Listing:

1. Yog-Sothoth
2. The Primordial
3. Infinite Beef Machine
4. Cycloid
5. The Dunwich Horror
6. Leg Slice – Hogpocalypse
7. The Root of all Evil
8. Dreameater

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Trepanation Recordings