Grave Robber: Exhumed (CD)
Mr. Dark
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Produced by Rottweiler Records
Those six-feet-under psychobilly wonders Grave Robber are back with an album that mixes old and new. Hailing from Indiana, Grave Robber are a group of walking corpses seeking to start an army of undead souls ready to take over the world for their zombie lord, the Reanimator. Blending a refreshing horror-centric take on decidedly positive themes and a thrashing blend of Ramones punk, Rob Zombie metal, and Misfits psychobilly, Wretched, Carcass, Lamentor, and Plague roam the wastelands of the world bringing musical destruction and resurrection to all who witness them.
Exhumed is the first album from Grave Robber on new label Rottweiler Records following two independent releases. While it’s a new release, the title is fitting. Exhumed features several new recordings of early Grave Robber songs as well as some unreleased early demos and a couple of new tunes.
Roaring in with a new recording of ‘Army of the Dead’ from their first full-length, Be Afraid…, the improved production and sonics are apparent right away. After a brand new track, ‘They Hate You’, we have a new recording of ‘Altered States’ off their second release, Inner Sanctum. A cover of the classic Vengeance Rising song ‘Fill This Place With Blood’ is next, followed by another new track, ‘Lion of Judah’. The new stuff is wrapped up by their version of ‘You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch’, which was previously released on Rottweiler’s Christmas sampler, Fleas Naughty Dog. This is followed by five early demo recordings of several songs from Be Afraid….
The re-recorded stuff sounds great, especially ‘Army of the Dead’ which benefits from the better sound and tighter performance of the new cut. Be Afraid… is a good first effort, but the band’s come a long way, and it shows.
The new songs are just incredibly strong. ‘They Hate You’ and ‘Lion of Judah’ are speedy, punchy, angry pieces of mosh-happy psychobilly fun. I dare you to sit still while ‘Lion of Judah’ cranks along at 90 miles an hour. The only problem here is that these are so strong that it makes you wish we had an entire disc of new material!
The demos are good, but they are what they are: VERY early demos from a VERY early lineup of the band. As such, they’re the most ‘punk rock’ of the bunch for their raw, energetic feel. Of course, they do suffer from the recording quality that goes with punk rock demos.
Exhumed is a good record, but I have to say that it’s only recommended for fans of the band. I can’t recommend their previous independent effort Inner Sanctum enough, though. It’s one of the strongest discs I’ve heard in a very long time. It always leaves me with an unshakable grin on my face.
If you haven’t heard Grave Robber, go for Inner Sanctum and go see one of their incredible live shows. Remember to wear dark clothing so the blood cannons don’t do too much damage, and watch out for the shovel…Wretched has been known to do some grave digging in the crowd.
Exhumed is a fantastic find for fans of the band. For those who don’t know them as well, it’s a great second purchase.
Track Listing:
1) Army of the Dead (new recording)
2) They Hate You (FBS cover)
3) Altered States (new recording)
4) Fill This Place With Blood
5) Lion of Judah (Our Corpse Destroyed cover)
6) You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
7) Reanimator (2005 demo)
8) Bloodbath (2005 demo)
9) I Wanna Kill You Over and Over Again (2005 demo)
10) Screams of the Voiceless (2005 demo)
11) I, Zombie (2005 demo)
4 out of 5
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