Album Review :
Grave Robber - Escaping the Grave

This Friday, April 13th, 2018, horror-punk band Grave Robber returns with their first album in 7 years, titled “Escaping the Grave”. How fitting is it for these guys to re-emerge after seven years of silence on a Friday the 13th? This release is an album that has been long awaited and anticipated by many, myself included.

Over the past 7 years, the band has undergone a number of changes, such as band member changes as well as a number of challenges in various areas of their personal lives. Despite these things, however, the band has endured and come out even stronger, escaping the grave that would just as soon keep them in its clutches and in spite of it all, they put forth an album to be reckoned with.

The album opens with an eerie, macabre introductory track, “Burial Ground”, which, if you’ve followed the band for any amount of time, is typical of their usual instrumental intros, but this one contains some Manson-esque sounds thrown in for good measure. These have always been great introductions to their albums and this one is no exception and I felt was certainly worth the mention.

“Into the Pit” immediately follows with an onslaught of in-your-face punk rock that will definitely get you in the pit…even if it’s just you enjoying the album at home. The song is really aggressive and one of my favorites on the album. My only complaint is that it’s also very short, but hey, this is punk rock. “The Beast Within” is another favorite of mine from this album and it’s very similar in terms of aggression and speed. It’s a really well written, fast paced, punk track and really slams.

The vast majority of the album is what fans of Grave Robber will be familiar with and celebrate about the band. Most of it, to me, is a bit of an older style of punk rock, with a few newer more aggressive tracks thrown in there for good measure and it works really well. Wretched’s vocals are as strong as ever and really on point and the musicianship is good, although a bit reigned in compared to the last album. While it’s not my favorite Grave Robber album (I absolutely LOVED “You’re All Gonna Die” and that one will be extremely hard to top for me), this one is definitely up there. If you’ve enjoyed what Grave Robber has done in the past, this album’s for you. Make sure you check it out when it drops this Friday on Rottweiler Records.