Wise Blood Records - 2023 8/10
With the new release hitting the scene, I felt it necessary to first revisit GraveRipper’s debut full-length record. Having followed the Indianapolis outfit since its earliest inception, it was neat to watch the demo years evolve into fruition. Therefore, it should be no surprise that Seasons Dreaming Death realizes the general vibe put forth before in a more complete format. No-nonsense thrash with a blackened veneer is what it's still about.
Interestingly, for a genre that typically favors the rough and gruff on its surface, GraveRipper have chosen a clearer direction. Cory's harsh vocals never glean clean for even a minute, yet almost all of them come through as crisp and comprehensible as possible. Complementing this are the same riff-salads that defined their sound on the demos, sticking to a pretty basic formula that's admittedly not unique but is equally difficult to mess up. Thankfully, a nice swift runtime allows this beast to start and end without overdoing anything, making its statement quite digestible.
Considering the bare-bones nature, Seasons Dreaming Death is better understood as a single-purpose approach that still has neat little nuances from time to time. "Divine Incantations" might be a favorite, as the bass ups its ante and the blackened overlay is more ferocious thanks to its blast beat-tremolo combo before returning to the thrash metal roots. The final two tracks "And I Curse Reality" and "Only Coldness" really lean hard into the blackmosphere, caking on even more of this for the majority of their runtimes. On the other hand, there's some fun to the direct but effective method. A slower lead with chugging rhythms running to the solo in "Red Skies" comes in nice and hot, and I love the straightforward nature of the monotoned punch in "Premeditated."
A word I'd use to describe the general idea here is "safe." It would be dishonest to treat this outfit's first record as groundbreaking in any way, but its also exactly what I look for in a black/thrash debut. They're very clearly onto something by this point, the songwriting is competent and clear, and there's a desire to perhaps pack in darker artillery if the closing songs are anything to go by. Anybody looking for the fast and furious attitude under a grainy blanket should seek this out.
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