Review: “Cavernous Depths” by Battlegrave

After four long years the long slow march from Hell has finally reached an end with the release of a sophomore album from Melbourne, Australia based Thrash infused Death Metal duo Battlegrave. The follow up to their well received 2018 debut album “Relics of a Dead Earth” was recorded and produced by Julian Renzo at Legion Studio Productions (Harlott, Desecrator, Blackhelm) and mastered by Ermin Hamidovic at Systematic Productions (Sylosis, Periphery, Architects) and sees drummer extraordinaire Samus Paulicelli aka 66Samus (Decrepit Birth, Goatwhore, Abigail Williams) joining the duo comprised of Clint Patzel (guitars, bass and keys) and Rohan Buntine (vocals and lyrics) in the studio, while all guitar leads were written and recorded by Daniel Mackie of Triple Kill fame…

…built upon an axis of evil of two great friends with an ingrained love of metal music looking for an artistic outlet to create music while honouring their roots, there is no question that the vicious intent behind Battlegrave has been created with the best possible intentions, by Metal Heads for Metal Heads as all good Metal should be. Here they embrace a heavier sound than their previous burnt offerings, delving further into Extreme Metal in unflinching fashion while at the same time refusing to let go of any of their energy, speed or groove and the result is nothing short of a white knuckle thrill ride of pure adrenaline from start to finish. Everything has been taken up a few notches, raising the bar with thicker guitar tones, more weighty production and the atmosphere building dungeon crawling synth moments lets the river run red with a sinister quality. The blades have been sharpened, the strings tightened and with Paulicelli behind the kit they have someone who is able to match their boundless energy. The speed of the instrumental performances is nothing short of jaw dropping. For the unindoctrinated “Violent Conjurations” is simply an Amuse-bouche it also serves to introduce the vocals of Buntine, who gives the impression of a pair of vocalists on the record with his two distinctive vocal styles. The shriller is more in line with what you might expect from a rampaging Crossover Thrash act while the lower tones are those more in keeping with Death Metal bastardisation and intertwining the pair opens up a wealth of opportunity.

The far beyond driven “Relentless” is exactly what it says on the tin before the high octane adrenalized performance of “Cavernous Depths” carves a tear in the fabric of space and time as a vicious little ditty that crushes the weak with blast beat bursts between rampaging galloping drum fills as Paulicelli gives Kevin Talley a run for his money, something which he frequently does over the duration of the record. The hits just keep coming with Mackie melting the faces with the solo on “We Die Here“, a classic Thrash monster before revolving around classic Thrash lyrical themes “Obsessions Gate” finds Buntine preparing to give into the darkness and embrace the bloodlust, sounding like a schizophrenic with his multiple voices setting the tone. The only point at which the restless and relentless pace drops is “Undying“, a moment of dark horror movie clarity with ethereal qualities that entices before “The Black Vortex” drags you in and smashes your skull to oblivion, the bastard child of Misery Index and Skeletal Remains left to wander the streets feral with nothing but a Slayer t-shirt to keep it warm. Resistance is futile, there is no escape and the cherry on top is “Bleak Future“, a cut that plays on the very real current state of World address and adds some well thought out news snippets to create an absolute monster [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Violent Conjurations
2. Relentless
3. Cavernous Depths
4. We Die Here
5. Obsessions Gate
6. White Death
7. Undying
8. The Black Vortex
9. Bleak Future
10. PT III Retribution of the Witch

“Cavernous Depths” by Battlegrave is out 22nd July 2022 via Bitter Loss Records with pre-orders available over at bandcamp.