"We are Gravehill! We are death fucking metal! FUCK YOU!" Haha. Yes that is a quote from the album. Yes this band takes death metal pretty seriously. I could almost say that the music takes a back-seat to the idea of what metal is for these guys, and that doesn't mean that the album isn't good, it just means that the ideology behind it is more important than the recording they put out. Though they don't want anything to control their lifestyle, it is death metal that is inspiration for their attitude and it all shows through in the music on “Rites of the Pentagram.”

Sometimes we align ourselves solely with our favorite bands and (maybe) whatever bands those bands say to listen to. Other times we pick a super sub-genre and love everything within it and everything else can go to hell. Gravehill is special in that it appeals to people who like death metal AND it's not so far out of left field that fans of black or doom won't like it. Not over polished playing, not over produced recording, just some brutal music that doesn't suck.

I have to say that I really like getting albums like this because as much as I hate being an elitist, I am when it comes to reviewing bands. I feel like I have a responsibility to be critical to a point of delivering the right message and upholding the credibility of my reviews so I can spread the word as accurately as possible on what I believe sucks, and what doesn't suck. So then sometimes a band like Gravehill comes along and proves why I should be a little more open minded about music.

Listening to Gravehill's "Rites of the Pentagram" makes me really want to punch something, or at least drink something hard. It's what I hope to hear in a metal bar. Rude and unsophisticated. Raw. This band reminds me of where we are at in music and brings me back to the core of a genre that has a huge impact on my own life.

I think Gravehill says it best themselves, "The GRAVEHILL Modus Operandi is everything our contemporaries are not...brutal, ugly, unapologetic and most importantly... uncompromising. So, in other words... not being opened minded, not having class or sophistication, not being anything more than a primitive minded approach to underground olden Death Metal... nothing more needs to be said or claimed, the music speaks for itself!"

I'm going to give Gravehill the SkullsNBones stamp of approval. This album serves as a reminder that we don't need to get caught up in a lot of BS within our own scene. Stop thinking about it and just do it. If I may be so bold as to bring this full circle.... Gravehill truly is death fucking metal. Fuck you.