Demo Review: Gravewards – Subconscious Lobotomy (Self Released)

Hailing from Athens in Greece, Gravewards are part of a Greek metal movement that is seeing some really hard & heavy music coming out of the country. Subconscious Lobotomy is their first release, an demo EP with a limited tape run of just 300.

4 tracks of raw sounding death metal but with a slight twist on thrash. It’s fast, aggressive & has a ‘take no prisoners’ approach.

Opening with Casket Entrapment, the first thing that really stands out are the heavy riffs followed by the pissed off sounding throaty vocals. It sounds like a statement of intent, an early marker of just what Gravewards are about. They’ve got something to say so you better sit down & listen.

Being a demo, Subconscious Lobotomy is pretty raw sounding but it actually enhances the experience. The roughness behind the vocals on the title track gives its desperate edge. Mix that with some really killer groove & what we have is something pretty damn special.

Crawling Chaos shows the imagination that Gravewards have, its groovy vibe mixed with some nasty death metal vocals & thrashy riffs & beats. The longest track coming in at over 7 minutes it refuses to slip into a comfort zone. Pushing forward with tempo changes that unsettle, it’s another mighty fine piece of metal pie.

An excellent showing comes to a close with the screeching of guitars & a ferocious drum beat. Deathwomb Incubation succeeds in hammering the demo’s sound home.

The future looks good for Gravewards, their blend of groovy riffs with hard-hitting death metal & flashes of thrash marks them out as something different in the ‘aggressive metal music’ genre.

Gravewards – Subconscious Lobotomy Full Track Listing:

1. Casket Entrapment
2. Subconscious Lobotomy
3. Crawling Chaos
4. Deathwomb Incubation

Check out Gravewards over on Facebook to keep up to date with their plans & pop over to YouTube to hear some of their music!