Review: “Descent” by Grone

Back in 1987 the writing partnership of Chris Christopher (Guitars, Vocals) and Chris Gennaro (Bass, Vocals) started a Death Thrash band called Suiciety that created music with themes of social criticism, suicide and emotions. In 1994 that band became East Brunswick, New Jersey Industrial Death Metal force Grone with a name change and a style shift, the departure of drummer Bryan Olen leading to them utilising a drum machine as a necessary evil. That hasn’t stopped them from creating black holes in space either as over the past thirty two years they’ve churned out Seven EPs, a compilation, a split with Pigpen and two full full length albums. They’re very much the epitome of the DIY or DIE spirit that drives the underground Metal scene around the globe. Recorded at Casa de Christopher 2025 to 2026 their album is “Descent” which not only has additional drums from John Kulp but also artwork from the aforementioned Chris Gennaro. 

The madness begins with a churning “Soul Of A New Machine” era Fear Factory style riff and throat scraping roars as “Burn it Down” unfurls its almighty wings. It’s as if the demonic entity of the cover artwork has come to life in an apocalyptic wasteland with haunting leads and weighty crushing grooves swirling like black clouds in ethereal darkness. The drum programming takes hold with “Shin Darkness” to add that mechanical edge to everything with the sound of metal on metal and the band takes us back to the sounds of Earache Records in the early 90’s. There is an inescapable stomp that is fearfully addictive within these primitive, raw sounds that continues into “In the Dark“, a cut with 80’s science fiction horror film like qualities thanks to what sounds like a little ethereal synth pattern lurking in the shadows. That rises to prominence in the final moments placing the discerning listener into the dark world of John Carpenter for just a few seconds. A couple of funky bass solos in “Until We Forget” make for a tasteful move along with some less harsh vocals, the change in sonic texture an evolution rather than a revolution.

At 64 seconds “Loss” almost sounds incomplete, the melancholic melody a twisted vine that grows in sombre nature before fading to black just as its getting going. What it does do however is offer a moment of clarity before a return to the skull battering with “Four Bodies in a Car“. A couple of well timed riff breaks help elevate this but its the chilling  “Underwater” with its majestic haunting keys that captures the imagination a little more. The embellishment adds another texture to the churning rhythms of the down-tuned guitars, chemically enhancing the offering to make it slap that much harder during the final moments. A monolithic beast of gargantuan proportions “Withering” has the power to put you into a hypnotic trance while you snap your neck to the unrelenting grooves. A lethal dose of Grone that has flavours of Kill II This with swirling programming and almost tribal drum patterns, it sounds like it belongs to a dungeon crawling of the highest order.

An introspective lyrical narrative rather than a murder ballad “A Simple Death” crawls and curses with malevolent evil, the darkness broken by a chink of light through the black clouds in the form of a fleeting melody. It’s short-lived as if Grone know which side their bread is buttered on but makes way for a tasteful, almost vibrant solo that’s buried in the mix under the intense weight of the rhythmic battery. The tempo shifts like a juggernaut changing gears on the freeway to allow “Waiting for the End” to hit home and in all honesty if you said this was a long lost Primer 55 or Motograter demo from back in the day there wouldn’t be many who would question it. Spitting battery acid and bile “Making Peace” sounds like the anguished pain of a wrathful god, crawling across the desert having been impaled by his own spear having falling to earth from heaven. The churn and burn riffs that are a constant throughout the album are given small atmospheric breaks with moments of lead, the pummelling percussion arguably at its finest here. Unhinged whispers make “A Convoluted Death” sound like the inmates have escaped from the asylum in a world where Mad Max is king and the stench of death hangs heavy in the air [7/10]

Track Listing

1. Burn it Down
2. Shin Darkness
3. In the Dark
4. Until We Forget
5. Loss
6. Four Bodies in a Car
7. Underwater
8. Withering
9. A Simple Death
10. Waiting for the End
11. Making Peace
12. A Convoluted Death

“Descent” by Grone is out 26th June 2026 via Gomek Records and is available over at bandcamp