Full Length Review: GRAVEYARD "Opus V" (Prof SNY) by Dave Wolff

Band: GRAVEYARD

Location: Shoreham, New York

Country: USA

Genre: Political death noise

Full Length: Opus V

Label: Prof SNY

Format: Cassette, streaming, 12” vinyl, CD

Release date: October 19, 2018

The search is still on for original music by musicians who take chances, and prefer select listeners who understand them instead of bandwagon jumpers. Graveyard is another band fitting this bill I found when I didn’t expect to. "Opus V" is a schizophrenic nightmare unlike anything I’ve heard. The album has elements of anarcho-punk, thrash and extreme metal, and is described as a ritual intended to undermine those who sit in the highest political authority, growing richer while the poor grow poorer and the middle class dissolves. If I sound like I’m advocating this too earnestly, it’s because its message started rubbing off on me a lot. I’ve read about shady activity goings not reported on the news but posted all over the internet. Some theories sound like raving, others sound grounded in realism as protests in the streets continue to grow as fewer people believe what they hear on TV. Graveyard have done enough reading and researching of their own, and are revealing what they found in the space of thirty minutes. "Opus V" depicts a coming apocalypse as a warning of what the sociopolitical U.S. could become. The lyrics, which were emailed to me with digital files of the songs, are unapologetically anarchistic and refer to the country as a “plutocracy.” Often they head into uncomfortable territory as they compare the current political situation in the country to Nazi Germany. I had to listen to this album more than once to get the complete message, and it kept getting more horrifying each time. It takes what average Americana doesn’t want to hear and shoves it into their faces. Going beyond the “mad as hell” speech from Network, it reiterates that we should do something to change things for the better and soon. -Dave Wolff

Lineup:

The Raz: Rhythm guitar, vocals

Custodian Killer: Lead guitar, backing vocals

Thomas Jorgensen: Drums, programming

Track list:

1. Sacrifice

2. Ecological Collapse

3. There Is No Escape

4. Serve The State

5. After Thy Bodies Burn

6. The Gate

7. Insignificance (Nothingness In Things)

8. Genocide Revolution

9. Make Us Great Again

10. Slaughtered By Chemicals

11. Don’t Interfere

12. Opus V