Graveyard’s Time Ran Out is a deadly assault of extreme metal mixed with brain-melting dissonance!
Band: Graveyard
Album: Time Ran Out
Release date: October 12th, 2021
Genre: Black/death metal
Label: Independent
Bandcamp: https://graveyardthe6thextinction.bandcamp.com/album/time-ran-out
Metal Archives: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Graveyard/52177
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PHILOSOPHIESOFTHEREALITY
Fasten up your seatbelts and put your diapers on! Before us is an album that will make you shit yourself! We are talking about the 3rd studio album by the mighty Graveyard (US). The band previously released 2 studio albums – Opus V (2018) and The 6th Extinction (2020). The former ended up at # on our list of top of the best 2018 albums, while the latter got # on our list of top albums of 2020. Graveyard labels their music as "political death noise" which is, in my own words, a deadly assault of death/black/thrash metal and grindcore!
Just by looking at the album title itself, Time Ran Out is like the aftermath of their 2nd conceptual album about the climate change disaster – The 6th Extinction. However, their latest release is even deadlier than its predecessor.
Every song on the album starts with some movie/non-movie sample. Typical for grindcore, really. The very first track, "Killed in Jail". The buzzing guitar riff assures you that we are talking about a maniacal black/death/grindcore release! As the guitars are chopping your ears inside-out, The Raz’s vocals are there to widen the pain and suffering you have to endure till the very end of this majestic release. The song ends with a puke-your-guts-out black vomit, in the vein of good old Bathory/Mayhem. Of course, the song itself talks about the corruption within the US prison system.
The 2nd track, “Gruesome Forest“ is absolutely one of the strongest moments on the entire album. It starts with Churchill’s quote: "You must trust us. Great Britain entered this war in defense of the principles of your independence. And I can assure you, we will never desert you." The guitar attack and Raz’s merciless growls pave the way for the epicness that is about to come. This is where Graveyard’s aura shines with a dark, radiant shine. This song features female guest vocals. She really did an outstanding job, hands down for that! The way vocals shift from clownish for one second, toward majestic high pitch scream followed by merciless black metal riff into the barrage of blast beats & double bass barrage. This Dødheimsgard moment is absolutely one of the finest on the album! Not only that, I haven’t heard anything this good in a while! Fuckin’ A! The demonic vocals mix with The Raz’ growls carry forth the madness 'till the very end. Female vocals are heard once near the end of the track. Goddamn, Graveyard! You outdone yourselves in this one! For a song that lasts only 1:48 it just can’t get any better! The lyrics deal with the Post-World War II period. It mentions The Treaty of Yalta but it actually talks about how Allies sent anti-communist migrants back to USSSR where they met their doom. One of them were the Russian Cossacks.
there’s nowhere to run
families preparing to die
leaders there having the time of their life
the deceit of the allies
left mother and child
hang side by side
all through the gruesome forest
“Generation Gulag“ is Raz’s diagnosis of the society we’re trapped in. And it is reminiscent of Sholzenitzin’s infamous book – Archipelago Gulag. For those who live under a rock, gulags were forced labor camps in the Soviet Union that incarcerated and killed around 20 million people.
Actually, the lyrics were inspired by a short series called Generation Gulag – recollections of Soviet Gulag survivors. Of course, the song is about Soviet prisoners having the best time of their life. The line: "Eating grass and nettle in the spring death from cold, death from hunger, scurvy, disease" is the actual quote from one of the survivors.
"Generation Gulag" itself is a dark-sounding one. These riffs aren’t there for the brighter future that’s about to come, that’s for sure! And the catchy hook in this tune will get stuck in your ears after the very first listen. This is also the lenghtiest song on the entire album. The overall grimness and the dark atmosphere that surrounds us are on par with every black metal legend out there. The quote in the song is sick, to say the least:
"If the tools you use are broken then use your hands,
if your hands are broken, then you must be a saboteur."
"Spiritually Deformed" not only comes with one of the best song titles on this release but also with some rancid riffage festivity. The guitars are like: choppity chop, chop. The buzzing axe distortion will make you feel as if you’re trapped in your worst nightmare. Pure brutality! The song talks about the impending doom caused by climate change.
"The Slaughterhouse Experience" is another outbreak of evil-sounding riffs! Total headbanger! Lyrics show the dark side of the meat industry. Wicked to say the least! Those riffs are deepening the schizophrenia of this release, that’s for sure! The song also features these really cool sounding ghastly vocals and even some literal pig squeals. RIP piggo! This one reminds me of that scene from Hannibal where the wheelchair guy with a deformed face is thrown to wild boars. Even if the lyrics of the song aren’t connected to that movie, the overall brutality surely is.
"Fed to the Wood Chipper" is the most dissonant track on the album! Those riffs are just merciless! That thick, 6th string buzzing rapid-fire sounds like tank tracks crushing everything on their path of mayhem and destruction. This track has some Voivod-esque feels but then it turns into pure black/death assault. The vocals coming from the deepest pits of Tartarus are so good! And the un-palm muted, sloppy-sounding guitar riff that closes the song sounds neat!
"Don’t Get on that Ship".... Jeeeez! This is actually the most dissonant track on the album, even more dissonant than the previous one. With some Voivod-meets-Dodecahedron or something coming from Deathspell Omega. Gotta love those broken chords! Even though the song itself has the sample from some horror movie, it ends with Raz’s political tirade: There is no good war. The White House, The Congress, The courts, the media....became the echo chamber of the privileged classes, of corporate courtroom.... They are the enemy“ Couldn’t have said it better myself. Anyways, these dissonant riffs are what the metal scene is lacking nowadays! And the leads are total schizoid stuff, for sure! The ascending riff that comes with the sample "Don’t Get on that Ship" is killer!
"Tortured to Death" lasts under a minute but it is as brutal as anything on the record. Brutal & wild! The final track Time Ran Out is another Voivodian festivity of dissonance that ends this majestic release with a style! Just goddamn! This stuff shreds! Black metal par excellence! Gotta love these mental illness-driven tendencies coming out of the guitars! The last song is the actual warning that humanity is digging its own grave! So typical for Graveyard!
Graveyard’s 3rd album approves the unwritten rule that the third album is the very best one! The guys have simply outdone themselves this time! Graveyard’s Time Ran Out is one of the best albums of 2021! It will easily have its spot in the top 15 best albums of this year, that’s for sure! This is without a doubt the peak of Graveyard’s creativity. Downsides? Well, the album lasts for 22 minutes only which is kinda a bummer but also the point at the same time. Also, the leads are like a giant inarticulate blob going in every direction, however, regarding the "Fuck you, Yngwie!" approach, this can be seen as a statement. No scales, no fancy pants. Just TOTAL DISASTER! When compared with the previous 2 Graveyard albums, in Time Ran Out the band got rid of the jam approach and made everything sound more coherent, more death/black metal. Again, for the 22-minute release with only 9 songs, this is a top-tier release! Not to mention those beautiful guest vocals that simply made my day! Time Ran Out is a deadly assault of old-school extreme metal mixed with the essential ingredients of brain-melting dissonance!
Rating: 10/10
Graveyard is:
The RAz – guitar, vocals
Custodian Killer – guitar
Thunder - drums
Time Ran Out tracklist:
Killed in Jail
Gruesome Forest
Generation Gulag
Spiritually Deformed
The Slaughterhouse Experience
Fed to the Wood Chipper
Don't Get On That Ship
Tortured to Death
Time Ran Out
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