Photo: Lindley King
Last year, while researching a Kreator cover story, I looked for some thrash upstarts who could talk about how much Mille and his band meant to them. Around the same time, I was spinning Graveripper‘s Radiated Remains. Vocalist and guitarist Corey Parks ended up in the story (nice job).
Graveripper must have kept practicing — a lot. Their debut album, Seasons Dreaming Death, is an improvement: It’s more confident, polished, better produced, and contains better songs. It’s better in every way we judge music, and Radiated Remains was in no way a disappointment. Seasons Dreaming Death shows that Graveripper wants a seat at the table and is prepared to do whatever possible to get there. This album is a straight-up ballbuster. If Athenar gets a copy, I imagine he’d agree.
“Each release contains our own blend of how we translate black and thrash metal into one cohesive sound,” Parks tells Decibel. “Those genres have such a diverse soundscape, and as fans, we are always listening to new and revisiting our favorites. As players, we do our best to translate those sensations into our own creations.”
“This record was much more collaborative,” Parks adds. “We did a lot of self-editing. Some songs did not make it that might show up on future releases. We wanted to raise the bar. There are parts on this record where it feels like the earth is crumbling beneath your feet like the end is here.”
Seasons Dreaming Death is streaming in full below and is available for preorder from Wise Blood (out on August 25).