The summer is coming to an end, though at the time I write this it’s in the mid-90s, and that’s one of the cooler areas in the country right now. Maybe it was from growing up, but the waning days still are ripe for some metallic electricity that makes you think of the music’s heyday when there were no subgenres and far fewer edgelords.
LA’s Early Moods could have been blasted from any car exiting my high school in the early 1990s and not have sounded out of place at all. The band—vocalist/keyboard player Alberto Alcaraz, guitarists Oscar Hernandez and Eddie Andrade, bassist Elix Felciano, drummer Chris Flores—sounds channeled and alive on “Ready for the Grave,” their third overall and another serving of doom-encrusted classic metal that melts faces. It’s a fun listen, one that is perfect for hot days and beers, ravaging your senses with energy.
The title track opens and delivers bending riffs, a driving pace, and strong singing, the playing getting thrashy as the chorus sets into bone. Guitars heat up and sprawl, and bluesy fire exhales smoke, the playing pummeling before burning off. “Inquisition” serves charred riffs, filthy power, and swaggering singing, the pace chugging through chunky territory. The power lathers as the guitars explode, swaggering through sweat and blood. “Thy Eternal Grief” starts with winds whipping and clean guitars trickling, and then the riffs heat up, and ominous tones ring. There’s a deep ’80s feel to the fire here, and it’s infectious, guitars tangling as the soloing soars, keys slinking and glistening. Spirited “oh oh oh!” calls power, twin leads slice, and everything cascades to a stunning end.
“The Prowler” is icy with Ozzy-like singing, murky waters, and guitars trudging, Alcaraz wailing, “Time to die now!” The colors dash as Alcaraz warns, “Your blood I crave, demons know my name,” as keys flutter and the final punches land. “When the Light Fades” is thrashy, synth setting a soundscape, strong singing and a tempered pace teaming, Alcaraz pleading, “Just let it fade now.” The emotion continues to darken, Alcaraz later changing his line to, “Just let me fade now,” the playing galloping as the leads smoke, and darker colors rush with cold waves. “Her Wicked Spells” levels with a dark riff, slinking playing, and a jolting pace and slams on the gas. The leads heat up as the soloing sparks, driving group calls rousing, the energy reaching out before ending abruptly. Closer “Ashes of the Damned” trudges as guitars open, the pace slithers, and doom clouds hang overhead, sprawling into action. Finger taps tear through the senses, melting as the singing stretches, soloing spilling blood, and the last darts glowing in the dark.
“Ready for the Grave” feels alive and bristling from the word go, and Early Moods sound as electric and blood-pumping as ever. Their swaggering brand of doom and bits of thrash storm with energy and chaos, making it feel like you’re barreling out of control, but in the best way possible. This record kicks ass. I’d like to be more eloquent, but that’s basically all you need to know.
For more on the band, go here: https://earlymoods.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://www.ridingeasyrecs.com/product/early-moods-ready-for-the-grave/
For more on the label, go here: https://www.ridingeasyrecs.com/
Meat Mead Metal 