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Review: Open Grave - The Heavens Cry Black Tears
Open Grave
The Heavens Cry Black Tears

Label: Independent
Year released: 2000
Duration: 16:38
Tracks: 6
Genre: Black Metal

Rating:
4.5/5


Review online: May 8, 2001
Reviewed by: Michel Renaud
Readers' Rating
How do you rate this release?

Rated 4.2/5 (84%) (10 Votes)
Review

Raw. Very raw. Hateful. This I think describes well the sound of this demo by Anti-Human Black Metal band Open Grave. With an evident influence from Aske-era Burzum, Open Grave are about as raw as it gets when it comes to Black Metal. Dimmu Borgir lovers beware, this is not for you. No keyboards, so symphonic stuff, no female vocals or other synth crap to try to "create an evil atmosphere". A totally evil-sounding, dark atmosphere here is created only using guitar, bass and drums, plus pretty sick vocals (screams) that, like the music, sound pretty much Burzum-influenced. I'd say Varg's vocals still have the edge when it comes to "sick", but this is pretty damn close. It is obvious that those guys find their influence in the rawest BM bands out there. I wouldn't have said that a year ago but I totally dig this stuff. Open Grave are a band that show that it is possible to create an atmosphere without resorting to a bunch of electronic gadgets, and they should be hailed for standing against what has become a trend, or maybe even a monumental farce, in BM today.

The band's anti-human ideology is not for the politically correct and may scare away many listeners. At a minimum you can admire the fact that those guys won't lose their integrity for the sake of pussifying their music so they can sell more records.

I can't really say a lot on the negative side except maybe for the short length, although that's a correct length for a demo. The vocals do sound a little weird when the singer screams "666" in Hellfvcked, as if he's trying to do too much maybe(?) Also the drums are sometimes a little too discreet. Well, those are pretty much all comments that can be excused considering that it's a demo release.

More about Open Grave...
Review: Fear (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Interview with vocalist God Vomit on June 27, 2001 (Interviewed by Michel Renaud)
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