Adorned Graves return with an album showing a further evolution of their sound combining epic, thrash, death, and doom metal, as the band takes the listener on a journey started with their previous album Being Towards a River.
The Adorned Graves debut ep in 2015, The Hand of Death, still ranks as one of my favorite surprises and the track “Adorned Graves” is still one of my favorite tracks with its blend of Black Sabbath and Slayer. From there the band released a full length in 2017, Out From the Depth of the Grave and then another in 2020 Being Towards a River which saw the band expand their doom and thrash sound to include death, doom, and metal as well as bring in a number of guest vocalists and each album while different still managed to stay true to their overall sound. From the band’s point of view, the Kaiserslautern, Germany natives prefer to describe their sound now as “an old school metal band” who makes music that could label them as a melodic old school epic doom and thrash band with some death metal vibes. Similar to their last album which used a river as an allegory of life’s journey, The Earth Hath Opened Her Mouth takes the listener on an epic journey, this time a pilgrimage through the valleys, green landscapes, mountains, and rifts of life, allegorically written based on the scriptures of the Old and New Testament. The album was recorded at Musikwormser High Voltage Studio by Andreas Wormser who also handled production and arrangements.
Going into this album, I knew to expect a lot of variety in the tracks and “Epitaph I” certainly starts things out in an unexpected way. Simple acoustic guitar and hauntingly beautiful vocals from Ruth Börner-Staub who for the sake of continuity sang on the closing song of the previous album. Ruth’s vocals and the arrangement bring to mind Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane and the song ends up being one of those that just sticks with you. At the end the full band comes in with power and that provides a good transition to the rest of the album. Production and arrangements are exceptional throughout and are well exemplified in this track where every instrument and vocal is clear in the mix.
“Pilgrims Path” heads straight into the thrash with guitars and drums hurtling along at breakneck speed from the beginning in sharp contrast to “Epitaph I”. Herbie Langhans handles the vocals on this track, which despite its general heaviness has a strong underlying sense of melody and provides Herbie some chances to showcase his vocal range. Andreas Wormser provides a great guitar solo and the rhythm section backing him keep the song moving. “Progenitors” continues with a heavy metal riff opening and some ominous whispered vocals as the song has a darker feel. The main riff is fast with a bit of a groove and Kobi Farhi’s vocals bring a different feel as will be the case for most of the tracks. To the band’s credit, the various vocalists are incorporated perfectly into the songs with none sounding out of place. At times during the song Kobi Farhi sounds a bit like Rob Halford (Judas Priest) even if the song doesn’t sound like Judas Priest. The song takes a few twists and turns before returning to the main riff and verse structure and as a result helps lead the listener along.
Dale Thompson makes his vocal debut on the album in “Valley of Achor” and early on establishes his vocal prowess much like one would expect from late 80’s metal. The song has one of the heavier riffs on the album and Thompson’s vocals convey a strength well-suited for the track. Thrashy elements come into play during the track at parts and help set up the return to the main heavy riff. Deafon Graever’s drumming on this track really shine as the tempo changes from slower, melodic sections to near blast beats and then back and forth.
“Son of Soil” shows the band channeling some Sabbath-like riffs in the opening of the track before settling into a sludgy heavy groove that also features more great guitar work from Andreas Wormser. The verse section have the band going into full speed and moving far away from the sludginess earlier in the track only to slow things down later and fall into a groove punctuated by Deafon Graever’s drumming again.
“Beyond the Silence” with John Cuijpers on vocals and its heavy, sludgy riff reminds me a lot of what could be a lost Black Sabbath song. Cuijpers vocals have a bit of the ominous power of Dio in his prime and the simplicity of the riff and melodies in the song along with the use of silence and the contrast with the instruments generates a feeling of power conveyed to the listener and all this is in the first half of the song. The pace picks up in the second half of the song but it loses none of the power both in the instrument performances or the vocals. “On a White Pale Hill” opens with a slow riff that leads the listener to believe this will be doom-heavy track but it quickly speeds up and veers straight into a thrash song and is reminiscent of other tracks in the Adorned Graves catalog showing a combination of doom, death, and thrash all in one track.
The instrumental “Wind Over Glen” provides a nice respite from the heaviness while also providing a good opportunity for Lupus Veruta on bass to be showcased and more prominently heard in the mix compared to some of the other tracks. Guitar work by Andreas Wormser and Cailen Graever shine in the song whether it be the acoustic parts or the solos.
To me, it’s interesting how a song opening like “Vaults and Caverns” brings to mind initially Dokken for some reason before it goes into an almost black metal droning riff with some growled death metal vocals and thrash beats. Again, Lupus Veruta’s bass work shines in this track and really adds a unique element to the overall sound which at times is some of the fastest riffing you’ll hear. “Lord of Stone” also heads toward the unique for this album with some near black metal vocals from Jordan Cutajar set to a doom metal background. The spoken vocals work well with the song and in general, this one doesn’t really fit musically in style with the rest of the songs on the album but the heavy nature and arrangement keep it from sounding out of place.
“Epitaph II” closes out the album and opens surprisingly quiet before settling into a melodic metal rhythm that gives Andreas Wormser more opportunity for a short guitar solo. Colin Hendra’s melodic vocals work well in the verse sections which are largely carried by Deafon Graever’s drums and Lupus Veruta’s bass.
Adorned Graves continue to explore different soundscapes in metal, and look to have perhaps settled on doom, thrash, and epic with a touch of death thrown in to lead the listener on a journey. The Earth Hath Opened Her Mouth clocks in at over 70 minutes in length and none of them are wasted. Great choices were made in bringing in the guest vocalists and even with all the differences and styles and approaches the end result is a metal album with some very different songs that all fit within the concept the band was aiming for. As has been the case for their previous releases, Adorned Graves have produced one of the top albums of the year.
Rating: 9.5/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist and Vocals
- Intro Epitaph I – Ruth Börner-Staub (Soulburner – Germany)
- Pilgrims Path – Herbie Langhans (Firewind, Radiant – Germany)
- Progenitors – Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land – Israel), Cailen
- Valley Of Achor – Dale Thompson (Bride – USA, New Zealand)
- Son Of Soil – Deafon Graever (Adorned Graves – Germany)
- Beyond The Silence – John Cuijpers (Arjen Lucassen, Praying Mantis – The Netherlands, GB)
- On A White Pale Hill – Simon Bibby (Seventh Angel, Thy Listless Heart, GB), Cailen
- Wind Over Glen (Instrumental)
- Vaults And Caverns – Chris Ackerman (Betrayal/Martyr – USA)
- Lord Of The Stone – Jordan Cutajar (Nomad Son – Malta, Rainforce – Switzerland)
- Outro Epitaph II – Colin Hendra (Wytch Hazel, GB)
Band Members
Cailen Leif Graever: rhythm guitars, vocals, lyrics, design
Deafon Graever: drums, vocals, lyrics on Son of Soil
Lupus Veruta: bass
Andreas Wormser: lead guitars, guitars, production
Release Date: July 2023
Record Label: Independent
Albums
2015: “The Hand of Death” EP (review)
2017: “Out from the Depth of the Grave” (review)
2020: “Being Towards a River” (review)
2023: “The Earth Hath Opened Her Mouth”
Weblinks: Facebook / Website / Bandcamp
Appeteaser “The Earth Hath Opened her Mouth”
Video for Pilgrim´s Path