At long last, Come to Grief finally delivered their debut full-length “When the World Dies,” building off the stellar reputation their previous incarnation Grief built decades ago in as scathing manner possible. The bad news? The world sucks, and you are immersed into the gut of that reality on this smoking, slaughtering record. But look, the music is what matters here, and of course they deliver the goods, and it’s nasty and derisive, and you won’t feel any better about the planet or its people when it’s over. Building off the smoldering ashes Grief left behind, this band—vocalist/guitarist Jonathan Hebert, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Terrenza Savastano (from the original Grief), bassist Jon Morse, drummer Chuck Conlon (also from Grief)—not only follows up what their original band and debut record of the same name offered the world, they push it further into psychological horrors you must face or otherwise suffer in silence.
“Our End Begins” is a slowly drubbing instrumental beginning that opens the door to the punishment ahead, and that bleeds into “Life’s Curse” that delivers crushing riffs and shrieks that dig under your fingernails. Burly hammering speeds up as the heat melts flesh, the playing takes on a bigger burden toward bruising you, and the band blasts into your chest, dragging you across the cinders. “Devastation of Souls” smothers and trashes you, bringing ominous guitars that chew away at your mind, the playing encircling dangerously. Wait. Riffs are incredible, right? This one has one of the best of the year. Period. PERIOD. Screams dice your sanity, and the viciousness finally ends when one last riff enters and splatters.
The title track is scary when it dawns, the guitars fry maddeningly, and the bass plods, your skull bouncing off each step along the way. Crushing heaviness meets up with a thickening haze, and things are allowed to cool until the temperature threatens anew, and spacious misery sinks into the ground. “Bludgeon the Soul/Returning to the Void” has noise hanging in the air before the vocals start to boil, and the pace drubs hard, slithering through broken, bloody glass. Closer “Death Can’t Come Soon Enough” hints at its despair from the title, and then you dig into this track, which hammers away with pure misery. Incredible record from doom lifers. Total pure menace. (May 20)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/extremesludge
To buy the album, go here: https://orcd.co/whentheworlddiesalbum
For more on the label, go here: https://translationloss.com/
Meat Mead Metal 