Revelations of Doom returns! As always, this column’s aim is to drag you deeper into the underground, below the lights and where the slime live, and introduce you to some of the most badass bands you’ve never heard. This time around we’re venturing way South of the Mason-Dixon, rolling through rebel territory and heading straight for the swamps and panhandle pathos of Gainseville, Florida. Is you ready, baby?
HOT GRAVES Live @Heart of Winter 2010 (photo: diana lee zadlo)
At this point of my uber-metal-nerd’s existence, it’s a rare event to encounter a band that I haven’t at the very least heard about before (at least on the East Coast) so I was more than a little curious when I strolled into this year’s Heart of Winter Fest in Richmond, VA and bellied up to the stage just in time to catch the second band. My first impression of Hot Graves was “Crusty, thrashy, blackened d-beat with a sassy Southern boy on the mic? Cool.” Five minutes into their set, it was looking more like Armageddon. Cranked-out bestial warlust and gleeful blasphemy were the order of the evening, as frontman Myk spewed raspy Satanic screeds over Nunslaughtering riffs and plenty of toxic sludge and bassist Hutch spent most of his time threatening to propel himself off the monitors onto a crowd of the unwashed.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6QNBVsZDvw[/youtube]
Hot Graves swear allegiance to like-minded blasphemers in Archgoat, Discharge, Revenge, Hellhammer and Wolfbrigade with their genre-smashing amalgamation of black metal, thrash, crust punk, war metal and heavier-than-hell slabs of primitive death metal (think Necros Christos). Throw in the odd sizzling guitar solo, a quartet of Southern drawls sweet as Waffle House sizzurp, sick Anti-Cimex & Discharge covers and a tongue-in-cheek, fuck-you attitude, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a good time. Wonderfully raw, unabashedly old-school, and undeniably awesome, Hot Graves’ d-beat death dirges are essential listening for those of you that like it nasty. Are they reinventing the wheel? Hell no, but you can bet they’re throwing some pimped-out spiked rims on that bitch!
Check ‘em out on MySpace, peep their tour antics and vicious live actions their YouTube channel, buy their stuff (including 2008’s pair of demos, “D-Beat Death Dirge” and “Goatshed Deathrash Annihilation”) here and get ready – Hot Graves are ridin’ dirty with the devil, and they’s comin’ for YOU.
