Up from the Grave

Now, I know that this is probably a useless review to write as this is a very unnoticed, forgotten album, and I doubt anyone will scramble to buy this because of me, but I feel the need to stand up for this record a little bit and give it some of the humble praise it does deserve.

First and foremost, yes, this is generic in every sense of the word, and largely uninventive. But that doesn't make it totally useless. I have almost no talent for formulaic and uninteresting albums, but I need to make an exception here.

In an age of death metal where it seems like evvery single band is over-triggered and plays nothing but blast beats for 45 minutes at a time, resulting in a record that sounds like a fat guy farting into a microphone, Up from the Grave is a very welcomed release to me. It's very old-school, and as you listen, you are occasionally hit with an awesome, crunchy, headbanging riff. Again, as I said, the rest of it is fairly run of the mill, but at 33 minutes, it's not exactly hard to sit through. It could be a lot, LOT worse.

The guitar sound on here is, for all intensive purposes, a knock-off of the Celtic Frost/Obituary sound: buzzy and very evil sounding. It works well, especially on the many slower, doomier passages on here.

Remember that Blood Vomit is a one man band. This means that there is indeed a drum machine present. This seems to be an immediate red light for many people, and I understand why: some bands, like Mortician, haven't bought a new drum machine since 1982, and it sounds awkward and very unintimidating. As a drummer myself, I can honestly say that it works here, though. Mr. Barnard actually did a pretty good job of coming up with some cool grooves and fills, and over all it's appropriate and doesn't sound too weird.

I wouldn't recommend Up from the Grave unless you're REALLY into early death-metal and can maybe look past the generic aspects of this album. It's nothing to write home about, but it makes for a fun, nostalgic, strangely charming half an hour. It's basically something you'd put on when you're hammered and want something quick and satisfying, or even as background noise when you're with your buddies or something. I don't know how many copies of this were pressed (I can't imagine many, and I think Bloodsoaked records has since gone out of business), but if you see it for a few bucks, you wouldn't do any harm in picking it up. Don't break the bank, though.

Standout Tracks: Up from the Grave, The Hunger.

Blood Vomit's only album was released on Bloodsoaked Records, the endeavor that Peter Hasslebrack engaged in before forming Bloodsoaked (the band). Wonders never cease, Blood Vomit sounds extraordinarily like the later Bloodsoaked, with both bands engaging in oldschool brutal death metal using a drum machine. They're not necessarily clones; Blood Vomit is more Impetigo/Carcass derived while Bloodsoaked approaches more of a Suffocation sound, but the similarities are pretty clearly present.

This stuff isn't very exciting. It's essentially Impaled/Impetigo style death/grind with a little modern brutal death influence. Of course, none of those elements are particularly interesting on their own and when put together they're only marginally more exciting. Occasionally a thrashy solo is tossed into the mix, which does break up the relative monotony of the album, but most of the time it just plugs away with a cheap drum machine blasting or double bassing under average tremolo or chug riffs. It lacks Impetigo's spontaneity, so you won't be finding any surprises in this mix. Vocals are a simple, guttural grunt ala Will Rahmer, so there's not even anything interesting there.

This is a stock death metal album, and it's not bad but I'd never probably listen to it on my own. There's occasional cool parts, like the early Mortician-style opening riff on 'Night Of The Unclean Spirits', but the majority of the music is listless and uninteresting and just runs down a list of stock death metal elements before it unceremoniously ends. I get that the guy behind this is probably passionate about death metal and has a lot of fun making this music, but that sense of enjoyment never really carries over to the audience. It's just too flat and lifeless. It can be ignored without anyone getting mad at you.