Led To The Grave

S/T

Self-released 2008

Beefy death thrash from the cold northern shores of New England is what we are faced with on the debut album from Led To The Grave. Fat, twisting riffs circle like a fist-laden pit on the album's opener, No Choice But To Kill.  Heavier, gruffer vocals bash into your skull while screamier one stab your ears like an icepick for an effective two-pronged assault.  Chunky riffs with melodic accents open Hellbound which breaks into some sludgy, rhythmic death metal riffage.  My favorite track though is the perpetual motion machine of BTK.  The momentum of the riffs just continues to build on one another as they swirl and collide together.  A galloping run of midtempo speed crushes you like a stampede of elephants only to have the song break into a groovy rock oriented solo-athon.  Pummel lays into your chest like a barrage of cannonball's with its rumbling death grooves.  A subtle "Swedish" melody paves the way to a crunchy set of grooves on Portrait of Evil.  Slayer-isms surface during the early stages of Speed Junkie before they are overtaken by some chugging guitar work.  More Swedish comparisons rise up on Feed the Demons, though the influences are not overwhelming enough to bury the darker thrash lurking in the bowels of the track.  The song ends with a doomy stomp somewhere between Sabbath and perhaps Exodus.  A bouncy, and catchy main riffs throttles into high melodic gear on Cutthroat.  As a matter of fact the Swedish, melodic thrash influence sort of sneaks in like a weed to take over the second half of the album to include the album's closer, Hit and Run.  Led To The Grave's debut is a bare-knuckled attack of heavy death thrash that leaves your ear drums bleeding from the pounding.