Early Graves - We: The Guillotine

Early Graves - We: The Guillotine
Iron Clad/Metal Blade Records
August 19, 2008
By: Bill Molloy

Has Tragedy really gotten this big? I mean, is it to the point where their influence is so omni-present that even pure metalheads are reaching into the past, copping equally huge amounts from His Hero Is Gone and Tragedy? Now this is not a complaint, this record is actually really good. I'm just genuinely surprised at the influence that the Burdettes and crew are having on "extreme" music.

If His Hero Is Gone were to form now with a higher recording budget, heavily exaggerated metallic tendencies and a smidgen of Converge love, they would be Early Graves. The press sheet name checks them, but even before glancing at it I had HHIG on the mind. Vocalist Makh Daniels probably owes Todd Burdette some royalties after this record.

As for the music, it's suitably epic as fuck. It's chaotic yet controlled with interesting flares and time signatures thrown into the galloping beats Song lengths range from below two minutes to over seven and even includes the requisite "clean guitar interlude" halfway through. Most of the time when I hear something this derivative I immediately just want to go to the original source but that urge didn't come up during We: The Guillotine's 40 or so minutes. The only skip over moment comes in the form of "Here There be Monsters," a 'spooky' track with sampled dialogue and 'creepy' music. It'd be alright if it was two minutes long but seven, to quote G.O.B. Bluth, COME ON!

Technical-Crust-Metal? Or should the metal come before the crust? I'm thinking crust first despite the ultra clean recording. Pick this up if you're into the aforementioned Tragedy, His Hero Is Gone, Converge, Slayer, maybe even some Entombed or Mastodon. I know this review sucks, I'm rusty and extremely tired, but on a number scale, let's give this one a high 7/10
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