Endless Pilgrimage

A time to kill, a time to heal.
dB Rating: 8/10

Release Date: May 6th, 2016
Label: Profound Lore

The last time Decibel hit yours truly with British death metal upstarts—they’ve been at it a decade all told—Grave Miasma, I pontificated that debut album, Odori Sepulcrorum, was no different from the hordes of soundalikes that permeated early ’90s (by 1993) death metal. But that there was something riveting under the mantle. Revisiting Odori Sepulcrorum, I stand by my 2013 assessment. Three years since, however, and Grave Miasma have thankfully tapped into an unnerving fount on EP, Endless Pilgrimage. The mindless battering is still present, but the songwriting—particularly on “Utterance of the Foulest Spirit,” “Yama Transforms to Afterlife” and “Full Moon Dawn”—has improved tremendously. Whereas Grave Miasma would previously wash over in a wave of mediocrity (slimy and icky all the same), on Endless Pilgrimage they’ve stitched together riffs, movements and atmospheres that feel and sound coherent (again, slimy and icky all the same). They’ve also transformed their cloud of heaviness into something epic by breaking through the morass with a gallop here (“Full Moon Dawn”), a strident strum there (“Yama Transforms to Afterlife”) or a weird early ’90s solo here (“Glorification of the Impure”). Add on the production of Jaime Gomez Arellano and Grave Miasma 2016 are significantly otherworldly. Arellano’s captured a time in space—moldy like ancient books—and it works well with Grave Miasma’s heft and unnatural disposition. With Endless Pilgrimage, Grave Miasma have the songs, the vibe and the approach to be more than an eye and sound on the past. They’ve found a niche in a niche, and with that what the Brits come up with next might just be next level. Chalices flood with blood for that!

—Chris Dick
This review taken from the June 2016 issue.