Grave Pleasures - Plagueboys (2023)

Unleashing somber waves of catchiness and a very engaging vibe, today we have Grave Pleasures and their latest opus “Plagueboys”. Featuring a very unique mixture of Post-Punk with some darkness to it, and even some elements of Surf/Indie Rock, this band has been captivating audiences for nearly a decade now (with this name), and they just keep getting better and better. If you are looking for something ‘slow’, dark, mysterious, and non-Metal, this release will be to your liking.

Starting strong with the memorable “Disintegration Girl”, we get that gloomy signature vibe from the band, particularly when Mat McNerney’s signature vocals come out. The playful interplay between Juho Vanhanen lead guitars and Valtteri Arino dominant bass guitar line is another strength from this band, making sounds like “Heart Like A Slaughterhouse”, “When The Shooting's Done”, and “High On Annihilation”, just extremely catchy and very diverse.

Our favorite track has to be the superb “Imminent Collapse” and its brilliant chorus section, giving us the chills everytime we listen to it… even after listening to this album for hours non-stop. Far from being linear, this release features plenty of experimentation with funky atmospherics and intoxicating rhythms, like on the ravaging “Society Of Spectres” and the dreamy “Conspiracy Of Love”.

As a whole, “Plagueboys” is yet another brilliant release from Grave Pleasures and their highly intoxicating sound. We particularly love the ‘retro’ vibe from the music and how dark and moody it is. The instrumentation is very well executed to be catchy, crafty, and well blended together, with each instrument feeding from each other and beautifully surrounding Mat’s vocals. If you like gloomy and moody non-Metal music, give this release a spin and it will certainly creep up on you.

Label: Century Media Records

Release: April 21st, 2023

Genre: Post-Punk/Alternative Rock

Country: Finland