Review Summary: Danse Macabre
Let’s face it: we’re all ***ed. Everything humanity does to prevent the inevitability of our demise is ultimately in vain. Seas will rise and submerge the earth, the sun is going to roast us, a black void is going to swallow us or we’ll just kill each other to extinction: multiple exits to the same destination. Egocentric leaders currently command blind influence over the world with the scent of annihilation fresh in their nostrils, and there’s not much we can do about it. Finland’s Grave Pleasures share’s such beliefs and their second album,
“Motherblood”, provides a fitting soundtrack to dance to. Bodies lying with flailing arms outstretched, smiles stretch across melted faces, outlines of ash in the shape of embraces. If this is our destiny, we might as well enjoy the time we have.
What is unique, and has always remained the case with Grave Pleasures and Beastmilk before them, is the band's ability to combine the heavy, strident riffs with this unashamed pop essence, akin to bands like Ghost. The sound is further expanded with the dark presence of goth darkwave, with hints towards Sisters of Mercy and Killing Joke echoing through
“Motherblood”, as is the brilliant vocal delivery in “Deadenders” and “Infatuation Overkill”. The point of converge between all these influences is the construction of strong hooks both from guitars and Kvohst’s vocals as they are catchy and enticing, capable of infecting you with earworms from one moment to the next. How other bands have not already cracked what Greave Pleasures are doing is outrageous, given how effortlessly this band performs. During “Mind Intruder”, all it takes for Kvohst’s audience to be waving radioactive rods in the air like glowsticks is by simply crying out the penultimate word louder than usual. So simple, but so remarkably catchy.
While the musicianship that ties
“Motherblood” together is tightly knit and in equal amounts, Kvohst is the star of the show here. He possesses this certain turn-of-phrase in his lyrics paint vivid imagery and offers an alternate perspective on death and sex. “Doomsday Rainbows” highlights this sense of juxtaposition with quotes such as ‘a smile so genocidal’, ‘all on fire in the shadows’ and ‘we laugh our way to the gallows.’ And while “Be My Hiroshima” features a customarily huge chorus, his gothic voice twists from stylishly suave singing to dark, matter-of-factly proclamations in the narrative verses of the song. In a similar way that Type O Negative inject satire and irony into their music, Grave Pleasures broadcast a rich desire to romanticize the apocalyptic characteristics that the band focuses on.
However, without the rest of the band, the weight that Kvohst’s voice carries would not be nearly as strong as it is as the instrumentalism always compliments his chosen style of singing. During the smoothly spoken passages, gazing melodies glide behind his voice. As well as assisting the vocals, the guitars also hold their own across
“Motherblood”, particularly in “Laughing Abyss” where the intermittent charms of guitars cast a reflective tone before drowning in a brief wall of sound during the soaring climax. Ignoring the ridiculous spoken word interlude that introduces the otherwise brilliantly reverberated “Atomic Christ”, the instrumentalism also helps the pacing of the album. Standing at under 40 minutes,
“Motherblood” is jam-packed with movement, be it restless, smooth, upbeat or downcast which forces its audience to feel alive, contrary to its deathly themes.
Sure, the structure of the songs on
“Motherblood” may be overly-similar but the album is a truly danceable gothic pop-feast of raw satisfaction. In a scene that treats world issues incredibly serious, it’s a pleasure to hear a band that find these problems unavoidable but also chose to point and laugh at them. Grave Pleasures tread unsafe territory which in turn makes it thrilling, sexy and most dangerously of all, catchy. A dance of death indeed.
