As Rapture Comes

None can contest Grave's historical significance as one of the Swedish death metal movement's founding bands; with roots dating back as far as the late '80s, they were an integral part of developing a rich and diverse scene whose tendrils are still expanding today. Yet, between their well-publicized breakups and makeups over the years, and albums often characterized by competent but spark-less representations of the genre's core stylistic hallmarks, Grave have also failed to scale the heights of success attained by more individualistic contemporaries like, say, death rollers Entombed, progressive alchemists Opeth, or melodic experts In Flames. Obviously there are those who would describe Grave's basic niche as a niche just the same (look what wonders Unleashed have accomplished under similarly restrictive parameters), but even death metal purists would be challenged to put a positive spin on original driving force Jörgen Knot Sandström's telling 1997 defection to assume the lowly post of bassist with Entombed! In any case, the bottom line of all this is that the persistent death metal stalwarts' seventh full-length album, 2006's As Rapture Comes, offers no revolutionary elements (or evidence contrary to these assumptions), but rather carries on with its predecessors' theoretically sound, if unspectacular, Scandinavian death metal. Worth singling out, "Through Eternity" and the title track offer dense structural complexities redolent of Immolation; "By Demons Bred" and "Epic Obliteration" alternate insistent semi-doom riff parades with frenzied thrash-outs featuring a raging intensity reminiscent of Carnage or early Morbid Angel; and the all-encompassing meat grinder of a song simply named "Burn" features a Slayer-ish chaotic guitar solo. All of them contain their fair share of interesting twists and turns with which to reward fans of the more patient, and instrumentally inclined variety (i.e. musos prizing technicality over originality), but anyone looking for something unique or mold-breaking from Grave this time around will have to content themselves with an unexpected death-a-lization of Alice in Chains' "Them Bones."