Witchgrinder - Nothing Stays Buried [Album Review]

Review: Jack Price

Industrial Metal outfit Witchgrinder have returned with a killer record, Nothing Stays Buried. The third studio album from the Melbourne boys is fast, fresh and heavy with its infectious layers of rocking riffs, gritty vocals, and horror references. While only 8 tracks long and boasting a shorter play time of only 33 minutes, it’s like spending half an hour in a shock-rock haunted house – all the fun, none of the mess.

Eerie synth and creepy soundbites add to the atmospheric record, Travis Everett‘s vocals and lyric writing create and sculpt the gory horror land the collection of tracks encapsulate, Scottie Pacino delivers some fantastic guitar solos while the two guitarists chug and shred through choruses and verses. The thundering bass of Jake Parr is groovy and feels more at the forefront of their sound, a driving force to compliment the crushing percussion of James Shelvo on drums. After scoring their place as opening act on the Static-X tour last year, the morbid men of Melbourne showed their expertise and prowess to their craft alongside the industrial metal powerhouse as they toured Australia. Their growing fanbase is loyal to the grave, scoring the recent single off the record, Queen Of Sin, 15k views on the sexually charged video. If you haven’t seen it already, it is certainly worth a watch.

Building on their horror inspired sound as showcased in their 2015’s Haunted, and 2013’s The Demon Calling, Witchgrinder have rewritten the Necronomicon with this latest entry to their discography. Piercing synth and haunting soundbites add to the ambience, as My Exorcist showcases the creepiness the boys have aimed for perfectly as the intro track. The guitar solos are tight and the chugging rhythm the band has is complemented by the catchy hook-filled choruses.

Dead By Dawn adds the creepy-crawliness with its references to Evil Dead, including the iconic “Swallow this” by none other than Bruce Campbell‘s Ash Williams from the films and show. The song is blast, with Everett‘s whispering vocals growing to a shrill scream by the end of the first verse, the chorus a chant of the song’s title accompanied by a cleverly written clean vocal section. Pacino‘s solo does not disappoint, making this track one of the funniest of the record.

Stand out tracks haunting the center of the album, Inject The Venom and Left For The Rats enter with a more thrash-styled sound, echoing the likes of the metal giants of the 80’s, with Travis‘s gravelly vocals resonating against the shrieking guitars, morbid soundbites and kickass guitar solos that could melt the rotting faces of the undead, their bones reduced to dust with the thundering drums and rumbling bass.

Bringing the album to a close is Nothing But Fire, an adrenaline-fueled ride with its catchy lyrical composition, and fast paced musical structure. A headbanger’s delight sure to snap some necks at the live performances. Nothing Stays Buried takes the previous Witchgrinder catalogue and pours liquid fire down it’s throat to deliver a half hour of non-stop rocking, raging and reanimation sure to satisfy metal and horror fans all over. With the rest of the year at the band’s disposal, we are looking forward to seeing some local dates show up for the boys to bring their hard-hitting horror show to a venue or graveyard near you.