Review Summary: An absolute banger of a deathcore album from a lineup that is unfortunately no more.
Conduit, released back in 2019, was the debut full-length album from Australia based metal band Gravemind. After some solid EPs, the band finally came bursting through the door with a unique and consistent LP. It’s hard to put a genre label on these guys. There is obviously deathcore and metalcore influence, but it all holds steady in a very groovy and mid-tempo meter that you don’t hear too often from either genre.
Unfortunately, after a rough 2020 and seemingly never-ending lockdowns in Melbourne, two of the members dropped out of the band including the vocalist Dylan Gillies-Parsons. This was a big loss for the band as Dylan has a gnarly scream that works perfect with the chaotic and crushing tone of the music. This lineup changed caused the band to have to re-build, adding some new members and releasing a few singles throughout 2022-2024 which found their way onto the band’s newest album “Introsphere”.
The instrumentation is engaging throughout the entire run-time with an incredible drum performance. Guitars tend to stick in the lower registers with chugs-galore and a focus on rhythmic technicality over leads. There is no clean singing to be found, which lends to the music. There is a trend of heavy deathcore bands like Fit For an Autopsy starting to incorporate clean singing into the mix which can be jarring and feel forced at times. Here, we get a diverse vocal performance that sticks to the harshness, but Dylan has some serious range.
Some highlight tracks include Volgin, which explodes with a blast beat before dropping into some of the textbook breakdowns the band executes wonderfully. These guys really know how to create awesome rhythms that will get you pumped up, perfect for a gym session. The track features some of the more melodic and atmospheric guitar work from the album, which creates a sense of despair. The track Phantom Pain is also a highlight with some ear-worm riffage, melodic sections and an intense lyrical theme of being abandoned as a child. Production throughout is clear and calculated, with punchy and crisp drumming that never sounds fake or programmed and a guitar tone that is beefy and centered while the occasional atmospheric lead guitar lines weave in and out and shimmer overtop the mix.
Conduit is a worthwhile listen for those that enjoy deathcore and metalcore and the band did a great job creating something different and unique to them while taking obvious influence yet refining it. This version of the band will be lost to history but we can still revisit this album to hear a band that was on track to make some waves in the deathcore scene. The album is close to an excellent 4 rating, but the album gets a bit repetitive with the overall sound and structure of the songs.
3.7/5
