Reviews list for Grave - Into the Grave (1991)

1991's "Into The Grave" debut album was my introduction to major Swedish death metal players Grave when I was only a young chap & I quite enjoyed it at the time. It's fair to say though that, as with most of the Swedish Boss HM-2-pedal worshipping death metal crew, I never saw it as the classic release that so many did. You see, other than Entombed's wonderful "Clandestine" album from the same year, that sound simply doesn't offer me as much appeal as the more sophisticated & complex Florida death metal model so, while I'd inevitably gain a fair bit of enjoyment out of the better Swedish releases, I rarely found myself returning to them all that often & the same can be said of "Into The Grave". For that reason, I didn't find myself rushing out to purchase Grave's sophomore album "You'll Never See..." when it was released the following year but a dubbed copy I received from Neuropath vocalist Mark Wangmann shortly afterwards would see me finally giving in to Grave's slightly weightier take on the Swedish sound & I've always thought of it as the superior Grave record. It's been decades since I revisited "Into The Grave" though so it's time I reassessed that position.

"Into The Grave" is very much the signature Swedish death metal record as it showcases all of the key attributes that made those early Entombed & Dismember records so popular. I'd suggest that the guitar tone isn't quite as over the top but it's still fairly immense & serves its purpose well. The drumming of Jensa Paulsson often takes that punky 1-2 style but also includes the occasional use of blast beats although they aren't particularly well executed & he pales in comparison to someone like Entombed's Nicke Andersson for overall chops. Front man Jörgen Sandström's vocals are a little more deep & deathly than most of the other Swedish exponents though & I think Grave benefit from it too.

The tracklisting kicks off beautifully with one of the highlight tracks "Deformed" leaving me with great hope for an improved impression of the album overall but the quality dips immediately after that & doesn't return to its earlier level until the B side which includes the other two clear highlights in "Extremely Rotten Flesh" & "Day of Mourning". There are no weak tracks included though so it's a pretty consistent listen but the majority of the album feels more acceptable than it is impressive. I guess by that point in time I'd already become well aquainted with the Swedish sound through records like "Left Hand Path", "Like An Ever Flowing Stream", "Dark Recollections" & "Where No Life Dwells" so Grave's take on the same sound would perhaps seem a little too similar to make a lasting impression, even if it is a touch more deathly than some of those releases.

While "Into The Grave" may not convince me of its classic status, it is a pretty decent quality example of its type & should offer appeal to most fans of the old-school Entombed/Dismember sound that led to bands like Bloodbath down the track. "Clandestine" is still head & shoulders above the rest when it comes to Swedish death metal in my opinion but I'd suggest that "Into The Grave" sits just behind Dismember's debut album "Like An Ever Flowing Stream" in terms of overall class & quality. In fact, I'd definitely take it over Nihilist/Entombed's iconic pre-"Clandestine" work or Carnage's highly praised 1990 debut "Dark Recollections" which would have to be regarded as somewhat of a feather in its cap, wouldn't it?

Out of all the Swedish death metal bands (Dismember, Unleashed etc.) that released albums in the wake of Entombed's Left Hand Path, Grave is probably the one I enjoy the most. For starters, it's frickin’ brutal, with awesome deep vocals and excellent multi-dimensional drumming. The guitar sound is almost identical to Entombed's classic debut, being low tuned and filthy, yet everything seems a lot more streamlined and intense to me. The drumming for starters is so much more interesting than Unleashed for example who rely on that one two style that gets old quickly. While Grave still use that style, they mix it up with the occasional blast beat and great double bass kicking. Ola's vocals are downright vicious and complete this venture into darkness.

While things do get a little bit repetitive by the end of the album, there are enough cracking riffs to keep me banging my head throughout, and enough little added touches here and there, whether they be a small addition of keyboards or a slight change in vocal style to not let things get boring. Check out Deformed, Obscure Infinity, Into the Grave and Haunted for awesome examples of Scandinavian death metal done right. I haven't really listened to much of Grave's recent output but after going back and revisiting this nostalgic release, I think I'll start checking them out.