“Last Transmission” takes a turn with Darja Vaarsi (California Widow) lending her uncanny pipes to a sinister song that’d be at home on any album by The Cure circa 1982.
Yearning for more artists to offer up soundtracks for the darkened clubs where wearing all black is a requirement of getting in and you can dance like no one’s watching? Then the debut from Deeper Graves is for you!
The first track alone is cut from the same cloth that made Goth classics from The Cure so iconic (More Paris, less Show) and sounds HUGE. Like an ancient mastodon kinds of big. Godzilla-sized even! DG mastermind Jeff Wilson’s (Chrome Waves) lush orchestration and composition skills set a dense tone for what’s to come as “Final Divide” plays like a death rattle toward its’ inevitable end.
In fact, much of Open Roads is akin to a funeral march and once you hear it, you’ll agree that that’s a compliment!
“Leave This World” is silky and mysterious, entwined within swirling soundscapes which give way to even more profound moments and an overall symphonic sense of wonder. Think Danny Elfman’s more dark turns as a film scorer or the soundtrack to Manhunter (The first movie to feature “Hannibal The Cannibal”. Look it up, kids!) as a map to this one.
“Ode To War” continues that trend and positively hums with this ominous wall of sound backing Wilson’s Gothic, majestic croon (Here, creating a vibe similar to Mat McNerney of Grave Pleasures) while “Open Arms” pulsates, slowly crawling towards a grand guitar reckoning with Wilson adopting a sustained, whispered hush as the bass rings out.
“Last Transmission” takes a turn with Darja Vaarsi (California Widow) lending her uncanny pipes to a sinister song that’d be at home on any album by The Cure circa 1982.
Then there’s “In Memoriam” which is like this classic concluding cinematic moment when the hero has fallen or some epic realization has been had and the hero wanders off alone to the next locale in need of their service. It’s uplifting but somber, much like the mood of this entire magnificent magnum opus.
Open Roads unleashes on July 3rd through Disorder Recordings. You can pre-order your own digital or physical copy now by clicking here or here. For more on Deeper Graves, follow them online by clicking here.
Original review by Jesse for Rock & Roll Fables