I Listened to Battlegrave's “Enslavement” at 2 A.M. and Now I Can't Sleep <REVIEW>

“…waste no time with you, and ensure that every moment… is one you will want to hear…”

One of the most interesting parts of this job is when I’m up early in the morning for other work, and I make the ultimate decision to listen to an album for review without fully knowing what I’m signing up for. I say this, because I picked an intense onslaught of speedy death metal fury for 2 A.M.

Battlegrave is a name that should’ve been a dead giveaway for that, but of course I’m still pretty uncaffeinated at this point so judgement and reason are out the window.

The newest drop from the Australian death/thrash 2-piece Enslavement dropped this past Friday and wanted to give it a proper listen and let you know what’s what. Because if you haven’t had the chance to listen to this album, then I gotta tell you about what is probably going to be one of my many repeat listens for the rest of the month.

On the surface, this might seem like a weird choice for me to pick as a “must listen”. It’s really good, but death/thrash isn’t always a top pick when it comes to my usual listens, and this doesn’t seem like it does more than one would expect. What gives? Well to answer that, we need to start at the beginning.

Enslavement starts out on “Soul Chasm” with a disturbing sort of build up, with rising gritty synth layers barely covering up the sounds of tortured screaming before the full band unleashes their full fury without a second to think. Clint Patzel’s doing all the work on the stringed instruments, assaulting your ears with pure fire on the guitars and bass. Before you even have a chance to breath on one riff, he brings in something else just as if not more intense to keep you on your toes. Add in his ripping solos, and this band has no fucks to give, because their fucks have runneth dry. Rohan Buntine switches up his vocal delivery any chance he gets, from teeth gritting gutturals, to lunch hacking shouts and everything in between. And while not an official member, Robin Stone compliments the duo’s death metal attacks with pure crystalized cocaine— I mean drumming*, that’s what I meant to say.

These three combined make for a helluva listen. Songs like “Bonesaw”, “Eyes of Enslavement” and “The Grand Machine of Despair” play on the speedy thrash and grooving death styles like it’s hopscotch. And once we get to the B-side of the record, the hits keep coming but with a bit of a break in the opening to “Asylum”. Of course, given Battlegrave’s track record on this record with interluding instrumentals, you’d think this wouldn’t last long. But, they hold in this uncomfortable sound for the entire duration, even when they move it over to the guitars. It gives you a break from the assault, but holds on with the existential dread of waiting for it to begin again.

And it kinda does on “Marked by Evil”, bringing things back in with a clangy bass before the rest of the band starts grooving. Not all out assault like before, but I like when Battlegrave doesn’t cut loose and just grooves in this death/doom hybrid. It’s what makes the speed absolutely punishing when it returns. Which it does, at the halfway point of the song with a blackened tone that would make Varg very angry (keep it up, guys!)

Going through the album, you find exactly why this is so god damn awesome. From the beginning all the way into “Under the Banner We March” and “US Outpost 31”, the best of the death/thrash combo is on full display, without any of the filler. Ripping solos, gnarly furious vocals and finger sharpening riffs that peel flesh from the bone.

And only clocking in at around 45 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome enough to get stuck in the background. Enslavement keeps you engaged throughout (geez, that’s a sentence.)

Overall, if you want pure unadulterated death metal fury with a side of stale beer and bullet belts, than Battlegrave has you covered. They waste no time with you, and ensure that every moment on Enslavement is one you will want to hear. It’s not going to be for everyone, but if you already are invested in the underground slums of the metal scene, then you won’t have any problems here.

I don’t know how long this staying power will last with me, but stay tuned to find out if it makes it into this month’s “What Have You Been Listening To?” list over on the Influencers of Metal Podcast, because I guarantee this will be a surprise and a half for anybody who knows anything about me.