Release Date April 17th, 2026
Format CD
Genre Black/Doom Metal
Origin USA
Northern Graves started as a solo escape for Damian Smith back in the frozen winter of 2023, born in the flat, desolate prairies of Saskatchewan before migrating down to Houston. By 2024, the project evolved into a full-scale assault squad with the addition of Branson Heinz and Andrew Caruana from Wills Dissolve, plus Roman Chester on bass. This crew isn't interested in sunny weather; they find their muse in ghost towns, decaying buildings, and the bone-chilling isolation of the rural North. Their debut full-length, "Derelict Heart", is a concept piece heavily influenced by the bleak poetry of Andrew Suknaski, focused on surviving lethal winters and the inevitable creep of mortality.
The vibe on "Derelict Heart" is cold enough to freeze the blood in your veins. You can hear the influence of that Saskatchewan wilderness in every riff, providing a bleak backdrop that stays consistent throughout the runtime. The transition from a solo project to a four-piece has given the music a lot more muscle, allowing the guitars to weave together in a way that captures a storm-driven energy. It helps that they tracked this while a hurricane was literally hitting their doorstep in Texas; that natural violence translates well into the blackened elements of the songs.
There is a grim, somber melody at the core of this release that fans of the old-school doom scene will appreciate. The vocal trade-offs between Smith and Caruana provide a nice variety, switching between deep shadows and more aggressive tones without losing the thread of the story. Having guests like Déhà and Jaakko Mäntymaa show up adds some extra flavor to the mix, though the core band keeps the ship steady. The drumming from Heinz is particularly effective, keeping the pace sluggish and heavy when the doom takes over, then ramping up the intensity when the black metal side starts to bleed through.
One of the most interesting choices here is the Richard Marx cover, "Hazard". It’s a weird pick on paper, but they’ve dragged it down into the mud and made it fit their aesthetic perfectly. The production, handled by the band and mastered by Brad Boatright, keeps things sounding authentic and rugged. It doesn't sound like a plastic, over-produced mess; it sounds like four people in a room playing music for the end of the world. The artwork by Travis Smith also deserves a mention because it fits the hopeless atmosphere of the lyrics like a funeral shroud.
If you want something that captures the feeling of being stranded in a blizzard with no help in sight, this is it. Northern Graves managed to take the desolation of the Canadian plains and the heat of a Houston hurricane and smash them into a cohesive, depressing journey. It’s a strong debut that shows these guys have a lot of darkness left to explore. It’s black, it’s doom, and it’s effectively miserable.
Damage done @: 8.0
Add comment
Comments