Coming out of Italy, Graveworm are one the European Extreme Metal scene’s more known assets. With a long history that dates back over 30 years, Graveworm quickly became Symphonic Black Metal leaders with albums such as 1999’s As the Angels Reach the Beauty, 2001’s Scourge of Malice, and 2003’s Engraved in Black. Each absolutely wonderful, and very possibly flying slightly under the radar, Graveworm continued to progress in the 2000s, experimenting some with 2005’s (N)utopia, before remaining consistent with new material through to 2015’s Ascending Hate. However, it has been 8 long years since anyone has heard anything new from Graveworm.
Sure, they put out a set honoring their time with Nuclear Blast Records back in 2018, but nothing since. Did this mean that Graveworm had finally said farewell? Absolutely not, because in late 2022 they emerged from the darkness with the new single “Dead Words.” Exhibiting a fresh new sound, they piggybacked off that with “Escorting the Soul” in January of 2023, “We Are the Resistance” in March, before unveiling their new album Killing Innocence on April 28th. Released through AFM Records, the new album marks an energized return from the band still led by Vocalist Stefan Fiori and Guitarist/Keyboardist Stefan Unterpertinger. Forever and always the core of Graveworm, joining them is a lineup that features Eric Righi on guitar, Florian Reiner on bass, and Moe Harringer on drums.
Together this grouping starts with a fresh slat; capturing various elements of Graveworm’s past that are matched with some new found darkness and heaviness. Consisting of 10 songs, Killing Innocence is something that old school fans can appreciate, while still attracting some new fans as well. First and foremost, perhaps the most glaring difference here is Fiori’s vocals; which are far different from the band’s more Black Metal days. A change that started to transpire a little over a decade ago on albums such as 2011’s Fragments of Death, if you are late to the party, Fiori’s voice is now more of a Death Metal growl than ever before since. That in mind, it could be argued that Killing Innocence is perhaps the most dedicated to a more Death Metal leaning style than any other Graveworm albums in recent history.
Now, this does not mean the gothic keyboards and darker elements of their music are completely gone, it just means that they have struck a nice balance between the newer harshness with the more melodic ones of their past. This is explicitly clear with songs like “A Nameless Grave,” which has a lovely mix of keys and heavy guitars, the single “Dead Words,” with its overall epic vibe, and “Escorting the Soul” unifying various elements. With this, there are also other really compelling songs like “In Honour of the Fallen,” “Wicken Mind,” as well as “We Are the Resistance.”
All in all, Graveworm has successfully created a new collection of songs that are brutal, yet melodic and filled with surprises as well. So, is this the same Graveworm from the Scourge of Malice or even Engraved in Black days? No, but it is still high quality melodic, blackened Death Metal that stimulates plenty of interest. Sometimes change can take a while to fully grasp, and in the case of Graveworm’s stylistic changes, it all seems to have found a pretty good fit with Killing Innocence. That is why Cryptic Rock gives their long over return 4 out of 5 stars.
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