America’s Gravewürm have proudly carried the flag of first wave black metal for over twenty years. Initiated in the semi-rural, college town of Clarion, Pennsylvania (well, quiet if you’re not attending college there), the band relocated to Virginia after releasing a slew of shoddily recorded, lo-fi, no budget rehearsals and demo tapes at a pace that would make the Japanese Sabbat and Pittburgh’s Nunslaughter proud. Hell, they released eight demos in six years during that time.

Sticking with their trend of tried and true retro first wave emulation, Gravewürm belts out their ninth full length album entitled “Infernal Minions”, which is chock full of everything Gravewürm is known for: lo-fi production, simplistic and thrashy riffing, simple yet effective drums and gnarled and hollow throat-torn vocals. Most of the time Gravewürm sounds like early Bathory and Hellhammer, only more simplistic and dirtier. Actually, “Infernal Minions” sounds like it was recorded in the same era, using the same equipment. The instrumentation and general approach is simplistic, yet heavy and with a thrashing groove at times. The band dips into some drudgingly slow doom flavored sections, but, for the most part, everything drives along at a steady pace. There is an enjoyably primitive, Neanderthal approach to the music: “Me Gravewürm, me play metal.” The dirty bash and bang approach made famous by Tom G. Warrior has been done to death by other bands, but perhaps not as charmingly juvenile as Gravewürm: the difference being that when Hellhammer did it, it was revolutionary.

Now all of this doesn’t mean that the music isn’t enjoyable. A lot of the music here is extremely headbangable with grooving, thrashy riffs coupled with a darker than thou atmosphere. “The Evil Within” and “I Die for Hell” are especially catchy, in a slovenly filthy kind of way. Gravewürm does lose the charm here and there, most notably on “Dominion of Souls” when the band tries to emulate early Burzum with a slow, plodding pace and spacey, Casio keyboard lines. When Gravewürm dips into these slower paces, it all sounds forced and hollow. “Crown of the Fallen” blasts a little slower and steadier but the chugging riffs and powerfully low ended bass keep it interesting and forceful, even at a slower pace. The choppy riffing patterns don't always mesh perfectly with the drums, and while it adds a very unsettling atmosphere, it makes the music seem somewhat juvenile. Gravewürm shows the ability to pull it all together with tracks like “The Beast of the Abyss” where a choppy riffing pattern and off rhythm drum pattern start off chaotic and out of sync and, somehow, just somehow, builds into a grooving, thrashing, riff-tastic powerhouse that eventually syncs up and kicks the shit out of all its way.

The vocals are distinct and not very similar to anything else out there. I've heard the vocals described as what the undead would sound like and, for once, I can buy it. The vocals are gravelly, hollow and hoarse. The vocals come across like an eighty year old COPD patient who spent their entire life in a smoke filled dive bar while drinking whiskey and smoking unfiltered Pall Malls. The grittiness and just plain throat torn approach fits the dirty and raw sound of the instruments really well. The generally blasphemous lyrical topics fit this style like a glove, so no surprises there.


Gravewürm's music is first wave emulation, simple as that. The great thing about the original first wave bands is that they played a little bit of everything: death, thrash, traditional, blah, blah, blah. Nothing was off limits and there were no feelings that crossing and mixing genres was taboo, because the sub-genres really didn't exist as they do now. The music was just Heavy Metal, only darker and more blasphemous. Gravewürm attempts to recapture the whole “we can play anything” scene by throwing a little bit of everything into the mix sans anything progressive.

What works greatest for Gravewürm also works against them. The retro, primitive style on “Infernal Minions” is a huge drawback to anyone looking for the slightest bit of sheen or polish on their music. It's also an immense drawback to anyone looking for any type of intricate musicianship or even the slightest hint of technical flair because Gravewürm plays the most simplistic form of first wave worship that you can imagine. There are points when the chugging riffs and thunderous bass lines become muddy and dissonant. It happens all over the album. The bass gets to thick and fights with the guitars for the most prominent place in the mix. I guess if you're looking to Gravewürm in the first place then you're not too concerned with production values. “Infernal Minions”, like I mentioned before, has a dirty and muddy presentation. The songs do have a tendency to blend together with repeated listens, as most of the album plods along at a steady pace, but the band throws enough tempo changes to keep it mostly interesting during the album's short playtime.

Gravewürm has not strayed from their mission: creating dark and dirty homages to the masters of the first wave of black metal. In that sense, this album will sit alongside the rest of the band's discography very well and as one of their most engaging works to date. “Infernal Minions” is enjoyable: at least enjoyable in a sort of sick and twisted kind of way. There is nothing here that is outstanding, intricate or even remotely new or unheard of. The faster paced tracks show Gravewürm as a force to be reckoned with, even if those slower sections kind of kill the charm. Rewind to 1983 and place beside Bathory's self-titled album and Hellhammer's “Apocalyptic Raids”. At times, “Infernal Minions” is even more simplistic and blunt than either of those albums, but they are a good point of reference. While, this has been done to death before, no one really gets as dark and dirty as Gravewürm. If you can't stand primitive first wave emulation, then please, by all means necessary, steer clear of this one. This is recommended if you like your metal dark, dirty, raw and blasphemous and primitively juvenile.