Full Album Premiere: Grim Ravine, Upon the Darkest Shores
Portsmouth, UK, extreme sludge metallers Grim Ravine will unveil the filthy revelry of their second album, Upon the Darkest Shores, on Sept. 22, aka this Friday. Aural punishment, song execution as physical catharsis, nasty, nasty fucking feedback — all of these and a heaping dose of subduction volcano tonality result in a misanthropic, mournful and, yes, colossal — as in opening track “Colossal Matter,” which establishes a brooding mood before casting forth its full dole of violence.
It is not unipolar, not just one thing, but like Grim Ravine‘s 2020 debut, It’s a Long Way Down, to Where You Are — which seems to have been made with a different lineup — it is defined by a multi-tiered, multifaceted aggression, and whether a given part is fast or slow, the char-smelling blastbeats of the later cut “Organic Corruption” or the brutalized punker plod of “Portend,” just three and a half minutes long and one of the harshest vibes present. And in context, that means something.
Because what Grim Ravine most do is wield their material like a double-sided, two-handed sledgehammer swung with destructive intent at any and all is their path. Less noisy than Primitive Man, not as solely longform as Whitehorse, and not as riff-led as Come to Grief, they’re nonetheless noisy, mostly on the longer end of sub-10-minutes — the exception is the closer “Orogenesis,” which uses the last two and a half of its 10:28 to let a post-apocalyptic drone spread over the landscape they just salted — and led by riffs, but in quiet stretches like the semi-spoken comedown in the first half of “Xenolith” or the momentary pauses in the assault of the aforementioned “Organic Corruption,” the apparent trio find a niche for themselves in a sea of knife-toothed megasludge outfits.
But such positioning doesn’t account for the character of a song like Upon the Darkest Shores‘ centerpiece, “Singularity” — which would just about have to be in the middle if it wasn’t going to be the end — either in the balance of hypnosis and subdued tension-build at the start, or the roiling half-speed Pig Destroyer (I actually went and tried this: it’s not the truest comparison in the universe, but neither is it entirely inaccurate) churn that ensues before the track opens to an angular nod that would seem to assure the 
gravitational standard is met. One way or the other, Grim Ravine are more than the sum of their genre.
By the time they come to the penultimate “Tattered Mantle,” the pattern is set and the band are able to manipulate it to serve their purposes. The track hints toward a middle ground between full-on deathbringing and just-brought-death stillness in some of its drawn guitar lines around three minutes in, and “Singularity” seemed on an almost unconscious level to do likewise in its back end, but as noted above, it is the fact that Upon the Darkest Shores sounds so remarkably, intensely, existentially pissed off that will ensnare those listeners not immediately alienated by their sound. Most will be.
There’s no way, of course, that the band doesn’t know that. One does not compose “Portend” for a mass audience, or maybe not for an audience at all. I doubt Grim Ravine would argue if anyone wanted to come along on their tour-de-cruelty — otherwise why make a record at all? — but the prevailing spirit of Upon the Darkest Shores is inward. For someone hearing it — have fun! — obviously the experience is about how the songs make them feel. For the band, it seems to be the same.
It’s how their music makes them feel — that force behind their air-push guitar and bass, the roll of drums in “Orogenesis” and the guttural dismay of the vocals. I’m not saying Grim Ravine don’t have an interest in growing their listenership, just that beyond a certain point, the crust, weight and anger of what they do is going to be too much for some.
I promise you, this will be obvious after the first couple minutes of Upon the Darkest Shores, and whether you’ve heard the band before or not — I hadn’t, if it helps — they’re not trying to hide or get away with anything. They’re coming right at you with it.
So ahead of Friday, here it is in its entirety.
Good luck:
Grim Ravine, Upon the Darkest Shores album premiere
Preorder link: https://cursedmonk.bandcamp.com/album/upon-the-darkest-shores
Formed in Portsmouth in 2015, Grim Ravine combines the harrowing unpleasantness of genres such as doom, sludge and black metal with moments of serene melody to bleak and devastating effect.
In 2015 they released their debut self-titled EP through Hibernacula Records, and their 2nd EP “The Light Is From Below” through Black Bow Records in 2017.
In 2020, they released the debut album “The Light Is From Below” which had been recorded at both The Old Chapel, and PA Studios with producer Paul “Win” Winstanley (Sea Bastard/King Leviathan/Core of IO).
Entering the studio in 2022, Grim Ravine recorded ‘Upon The Darkest Shores’ at Brighton Electric Studios with long-standing producer Paul “Win” Winstanley.
Tracklisting
1. Colossal Matter
2. Xenolith
3. Portend
4. Singularity
5. Organic Corruption
6. Tattered Mantle
7. Orogenesis
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