there you go. 2024 sucked less than the previous few years but lets be honest, it was a pretty low bar. ok 2 things. 1. yes i'm aware that harrowed was only 2 songs. however their 2 songs were better than most bands entire career and at this point, those guys could fart into a hello kitty mic for an hour straight and i'd still love it. and 2. wharflurch isn't technically an album in the typical way. it's a series of demos. however it plays like an album and they went further in the direction i hoped they'd go, so there, it counts.
Somehow, someway, Early Graves has stayed off of my radar until very recently. This has happened to me a lot recently, so this whole "New Band To Me" thing will pop up here from time to time. But this band scratches an itch in my brain that not many other bands manage to do. On one hand I feel like a fool for not knowing about them before now, but on the other hand, I am very grateful that their catalog is completely new to me. Now, pardon me while I do some Wikipedia copy & pasting about Early Graves.
Early Graves formed in 2007, members had previously been in Apiary. They toured the U.S. extensively with The Handshake Murders, Gaza, The Funeral Pyre and Unearth, amongst many others. Their debut album We: The Guillotine was released worldwide August 19, 2008, on Ironclad/Metal Blade Records. On June 22, 2010, they released a second album, Goner. Unfortunately, early on Monday, August 2, 2010, vocalist Makh Daniels was killed in a van accident while traveling from Oregon to Reno, Nevada. However, somehow, despite it all, the band pushed on, releasing 2012's Red Horse with their close friend John Strachan, of the Funeral Pyre, taking over on vocals. In 2016, a split 7" with Ringworm was released, featuring one new original and one cover from each band, Early Graves cover Celtic Frost’s “Into the Crypts of Rays”. The band disbanded following a final performance at the Decibel Metal & Beer Festival on December 10, 2021.
In an interview before their final show, their guitar player was asked about future projects, and he stated: "A couple of us are starting a not-quite-titled project that was most of our focus for 2019, and then 2020 put a pause on that, but now going back at it. It’s really aggressive music, kind of similar to Early Graves". If anyone know what fucking band he is talking about, or can point me in the direction of other bands like Early Graves, please let me know!
I fully realize that this synthwave content is most likely for me, and me alone, but I am still going to post it, and I guess you are just going to have to deal with it lol. I work Monday thru Friday and Sunday is by far the most depressing day of the week for me, so I guess this is just my way of coping.
