Gangrenator – Tales from a Thousand Graves (2010)

Hailing from Norway and featuring Kvohst (vocalist of Code and ex-DHG), today we have Gangrenator and their interesting sounding old-school Death/Grind Metal. This band feels like a tribute band to old-school Death/Grind and B movies, and they actually manage to pull of this feeling very successfully on the 13 tracks presented in this short but sweet release.

During “Tales from a Thousand Graves”, we get a bunch of deranged tracks that last between 1 and 3 minutes of highly chaotic, but interestingly crafted music. Amoque Von Berlevaag does a very solid job in providing countless riffs that range from Grindcore to traditional Death Metal influences.

The overall music is very rich in little details and incorporates old-school Death/Grind elements with some Punkish hints here and there (i.e. “When Children Attack Lions”). The drumming is very solid and the vocals nicely switch between Death growls and Hardcore screams.

The spoken samples are another one of the things that make this album so entertaining, like the intro to “Miniature Limb Collection”, the epic phrase ‘release the Kraken’ in the song “Dredged Up from Below”, and on many other songs. This reminds us of bands like Macabre, Mortician, etc. and gives the music a more authentic old-school vibe.

In general, if you like older Death/Grind albums, you will love “Tales from a Thousand Graves”. If you are looking for something that contains good music and high entertainment value with the song names and lyrics, then Gangrenator will surely satisfy all your cravings in this department. “Tales from a Thousand Graves” features a pretty hefty dose of laughs, Metal and overall interesting ideas with a crystal clear sound.

Release: March 19th, 2010

Country: Norway