Review: “Domain of Foul Rebirths” by Grave Hex

“When writing the material for ‘Domain of Foul Rebirths’ we stuck with the style that we established during the creation of our previous record ‘Vermian Death’ while taking the musical compositions and tonality to a more complex level. We used mostly the same musical gear than before but production-wise we took a new experimental approach and the result turned out simultaneously recognizable and more refined than before.

The central themes of ‘Domain of Foul Rebirths’ revolve around the bizarre and execrable methods of self-destruction and rebirth. Each song examines beings or entities reborn from foul or disgusting ways of torment; self-disembowelment, being eaten alive, esoteric surgery and other ways trying to reach postmortal change” ~ Grave Hex

After the release of their debut album “Vermian Death” via Night Terrors Records and Cavernous Records in 2025 Helsinki based Death Metal quartet Grave Hex not only toured Finland but also played Rot in Peace Metal Fest and Helsinki Death Fest, such was the impression that the album left. Mastered by Greg Wilkinson (Autopsy, Necrot, Undergang) at Earhammer Studios in Oakland California having been recorded and mixed by the band’s own Matti Vainionpää, the sequel is EP “Domain of Foul Rebirths“.

Getting the party started with all the style and grace of a war machine in George Miller’s Mad Max “Vile Eclosion” sounds very much like it was recorded on the floor of the studio with all the intoxicating energy and raw edge of a live performance. HM2 style buzzsaw riffs, a little bit of Death Thrash style whammy bar action and some sinister leads not to mention a tasteful solo are all in the melting pot, the powerhouse percussive sounds sounds making it violent delight straight out of hells gate. Feedback and a sample then introduces the churn and burn of “Leech Eater“, a cut which sounds like it originates from the tape trading days of the 80’s with a real nostalgia for both the Florida and Swedish Death Metal scenes of the that era. There are a few groovy parts in the dirge laden riffage and it has to be said the fiercely barked vocals are strangely catchy on this one.

There was never going to be a soft centre to this record, Grave Hex simply aren’t that kind of band and “Sewer Embalmment” isn’t that kind of song title. A headbangers delight with an air of bands like Penny Coffin about it, this one has cavernous vocals of blood and venom as the band put the discerning listener through the meat grinder with the kind of pulverising barbed sounds and oppressive atmosphere that with cause the weak of mind the suffer a brain hemorrhage. The onslaught of rhythms is an assault on the senses that can not be stopped even with the weightly crush of “Master’s Lair“. A ripper that grows in statute as it plays out, this one rises to blast beats and throat splitting vocals before a sinister solo that burns like wire. The lyrics of this one are reflected in the cover artwork almost forming some kind of occult ritual while threatening to but never actually moving into blackened territories. There is an eerie, hummable melody to “Apparitions Of Flesh” which gets inside your mind and refuses to leave, the potent riffs and powerful drumming added to with the screams of the dead, the dying and the damned. A buried sample adds an eerie quality to proceedings, the science fiction horror moment that follows a wave of feedback sending a chill down the spine… [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Vile Eclosion
2. Leech Eater
3. Sewer Embalmment
4. Master’s Lair
5. Apparitions Of Flesh

“Domain of Foul Rebirths” by Grave Hex is out 30th October 2026