Battlegrave |Enslavement |Self-Release

Release Date April 10^th, 2026
Format Digital/ CD
Genre Death/Thrash Metal
Country Australia

Battlegrave formed in Melbourne, Australia during 2017 and immediately caused underground damage with the "Mortar Fire" demo. The duo followed up by dropping the "To Hell With War" extended play along with the albums "Relics Of A Dead Earth" and "Cavernous Depths", constantly touring and bringing in top-tier musicians for live shows. After working with elite drummers previously, Rohan Buntine and Clint Patzel recruited Robin Stone for session drums on this massive third full-length strike. The self-released new album is called "Enslavement", bringing ten tracks of high-velocity destruction.

Extreme metal runs deep in the veins of "Enslavement", delivering an unrelenting surge of death-laden thrash. Clint Patzel handles all the strings, unleashing an endless supply of intense riffs that tear through the speakers with absolute malice. The guitar tone cuts straight to the bone, backed by the thunderous percussion of Robin Stone. The drum lines dictate a merciless pace, hammering skulls into dust while establishing extreme rhythmic precision. Having Logan Mader handle the mastering guarantees massive audio power across the entire runtime, cementing the uncompromising extremity of the duo.

Rohan Buntine handles the vocal attack, spewing vile hatred and pure aggression over the furious instrumentation. He screams out a dark narrative about a subterranean demon harvesting human souls to satisfy an endless appetite for flesh. The lyrics dig deep into extreme violence, matching the vicious musical assault word for word. The vocal delivery stays relentless and completely unhinged, ensuring the grim conceptual storyline achieves maximum impact. Every syllable spits absolute fury across the tracking, adding a totally sinister layer beneath the sonic brutality.

Fast picking and blast beats dominate the landscape, pushing the speedometer to its absolute limits without skipping a beat. Tim Shearman handled the mix, keeping every element aggressive and distinctly decipherable amidst the massive sonic barrage. Slower, neck-snapping grooves occasionally crash the party, dragging the listener down into the dirt before the speed erupts again. Songs like "There Is Only Death" and "Marked By Evil" maintain absolute devastation. The duo totally ignores trends, strictly playing the violent music they want to hear.

Overall, "Enslavement" delivers a ruthless beating that truly satisfies the primal need for extreme speed and deathly growls. Battlegrave engineered a brutal creation that totally rips, leaving nothing behind except smoking wreckage and blasted eardrums. The independent approach served them well, resulting in a tremendously savage listening experience. Headbangers looking for pure audio destruction will spin this disc constantly. The third strike strikes the mark with lethal precision.

Score: 8.0