CD Title: Something Worth Chasing
Year: 2008
Website: myspace.com/gravil
MySpace: myspace.com/gravil
Label: Bitter to The Core Records (Temporarily for E.P.)
Featured on: Loucifer Speaks... and wherever else I can post it!
Rating: 9.9 / 10
More Links: GRAVIL THREAD ON LOUCIFER SPEAKS' FORUM.
Any band that sends their very own comic book along with their CD deserves that you to listen to them that extra bit more. I thought that since GraVil had gone the extra mile (and the comic is very well done!), I thought I would too. So, that basically means that I've listened to these four tracks a hell of a lot... It's hard to know whether to describe the music as Symphonic Black Metal or Melodic Death Metal - as both genres are represented here in full force.
The EP opens with the incredibly dramatic "Through The Eyes Of Spartans" - everything from the drums to the guitars to the keyboards give this track a real cinematic edge. It has the feel of a real epic track, even though it's not exactly epic in length.
The title track has a superb intro before launching into a fantastic song - one which, as far as I'm concerned - is the strongest on the CD. There's nothing I would change about it at all.
"Multiverse" seems to be more aggressive in comparision to the previous two tracks, but for some reason it hasn't grabbed my attention quite as much as those songs. Perhaps I need to listen to it more and have it grow on me.
On the other hand, with "Candledark", GraVil have created a song that's instantly accessible - combining optimum levels of melody and aggression. It still doesn't reach the dizzy heights of "Something Worth Chasing" or "Through The Eyes Of Spartans", but it's definitely on the right track.
Overall, this is a stunningly impressive debut (I think!) EP. It's a CD that will get your mouth watering and have you begging to the gods and goddesses of Metal that the band will release a full length album in the near future.