Since 1987 we’ve always been able to count on one thing. The existence of East Brunswick, New Jersey Industrial Death Metal outfit Grone. They’ve spilled blood in the same mud as the best of them for almost four decades and written some incredible albums including 1999’s “Grovel” and 2024’s “Murder Engine“. We had the pleasure of a conversation with the duo about some classic and influential albums and even went as far as letting them do three picks a piece for the latest edition of our feature “6 Albums I Want To Be Buried With“. So without much further much ado about nothing, here’s what Chris “Chris2” Christopher and Chris Gennaro had to say…
The premise is simple: “Back in ancient Egypt they believed that the items their Kings were buried with would travel with them into the afterlife and so part of the burial ritual would see the mummified bodies surrounded by chariots, gold and more. Fast forward to now. If there were five albums that you’d want buried in the coffin with you to take to the afterlife, what would you choose?”
#1. Slayer – “Reign in Blood“.
“I was already a big fan of Hell Awaits, and this was one of the few albums I remember biking over to the record store on the day it was released. I was 14 at the time, and I don’t think that tape left my tape deck for a month afterwards. I think my denim jacket already had the Slayer back patch (from Show No Mercy) at that point, but Reign in Blood insured it would remain for the rest of the 80s, and one of the few releases I feel like I could say ‘changed my life’.“
#2. Celtic Frost – “To Mega Therion”
“For me this album had all the heaviness, but also a dark vibe that few other releases at the time had. They were so far ahead of their time, and this album still holds up 40 years later.“
#3. Death – “Leprosy”
“This was just a quintessential Death Metal album. I’ll always remember going to see Death play on Eater Sunday at City Gardens in Trenton (in 89). Luckily for Chris2 the Greek Easter Sunday was on a different Sunday and he didn’t get any blow back from his folks, lol. I’m sure mine weren’t happy. I would have never forgiven them if I missed it though. Chuck will always be missed.“
#4. Merciful Fate – “Melissa“
“Chris2 is a big King Diamond fan. I get it. Who is more metal than King Diamond?“
#5. Sepultura – “Roots“
“We had been big Sepultura fans for a long time. Max always put on amazing shows. He just lived underground metal. I feel like this album gets a bit of a bad rap due to some people associating it with other bands around the same time. For me, it’s unapologetically heavy. I also love the Roots B-sides CD with the cover tune of Proclamation of the Wicked. I think it says a lot more about the influence on Roots than any of the other things floating around at the time.“
#6. Morbid Angel – “Blessed are the Sick“
“So many great Morbid Angel albums to choose from. I think this album had a great blend of faster death metal stuff and mid-paced brutally heavy riffs. Funny side story – A year or so after Alters of Madness came out, we put out our second (or third?) demo in 1991. The cover was supposed to be these blurred faces but just ended up looking like an Alters of Madness rip off. We were young and in a rush. Wasn’t meant to be that; but it happens. I feel like Chris2 is probably still annoyed with me about that.“
“Diyu” by Grone is out 22nd September 2025 and is available over at bandcamp
