[photo by Orion Landau]
Today, cult doom/sludge unit, GRAVES AT SEA, unveils the details of their long-awaited debut full-length, The Curse That Is, a tour-de-force of incredible magnitude almost fifteen years in the making. The album will see a worldwide release on April 1st via Relapse Records and is available for preorder on CD/2xLP/digitally at THIS LOCATION.
The title track, “The Curse That Is,” is currently streaming via The Obelisk HERE and YouTube HERE.
After issuing a series of highly-regarded demos and splits, the quartet has re-emerged, having recently cut their teeth performing on mainstages at Maryland Deathfest, Roadburn and numerous other festivals. Now, GRAVES AT SEA unleashes their strongest, most ear-shattering material to date. Engineered by Greg Wilkinson (Noothgrush, Brainoil) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Sleep, Yob, Old Man Gloom), The Curse That Is effortlessly fuses colossal walls of feedback-laden sound with gargantuan riffs that crush and crawl with the weight of mountains alongside thunderous rhythms meant to tear a hole in this dying earth. Coupled with self-loathing lyrics of torment and demise, the listener is engulfed in wave upon wave of aural misery throughout the over seventy-minute ride through Hell.
Issues The Obelisk in an advance examination of the offering, “What The Curse That Is does best of all is blend the visceral, searing aspects of GRAVES AT SEA‘s sound with that overarching atmospheric bleakness, and in that, the album builds on what the demo accomplished those years ago with a coherent, unflinchingly dark vision. The use of violin throughout – Alex Carson contributes – adds arrangement complexity, and adds to the initial crux of the record’s lurch, whether that’s in the deceptively catchy ‘Dead Eyes’ and ‘Waco 177’ or in the sprawling gruel of ‘Minimium Slave’ at the finale…”
The Curse That Is Track Listing:
- The Curse That Is
- Dead Eyes
- Tempest
- The Ashes Made Her Beautiful
- This Mental Sentence
- Waco 177
- Luna Lupus Venator
- Minimum Slave
Additionally, GRAVES AT SEA will be embarking on a two week-long US tour in support of The Curse That Is. A full list of dates is available below; venues and more info will be announced shortly.
GRAVES AT SEA:
4/11/2016 Atlanta, GA
4/12/2016 Ashville, NC
4/13/2016 Savannah, GA
4/14/2016 Richmond, VA
4/15/2016 Baltimore, MD
4/16/2016 Philly, PA
4/17/2016 Brooklyn, NY
4/18/2016 Boston, MA
4/19/2016 Pittsburgh, PA
4/20/2016 Columbus, OH
4/21/2016 Detroit, MI
4/22/2016 Milwaukee, WI
4/23/2016 Rock Island, IL
4/24/2016 Chicago, IL
GRAVES AT SEA was forged in 2002 by friends Nick Phit and Nathan Misterek, with then-members Roger Williams and Steve Klatz (RIP). After self-releasing a demo titled Documents Of Grief, they toured extensively and were quickly noticed by Greg Anderson of Southern Lord/Sunn, who released their Cirrohosis/Atavist Arise seven-inch in 2004. Later in 2005, the band released a split with friends Asunder on Life Is Abuse (CD) and 20 Buck Spin (vinyl). In 2007, GRAVES AT SEA went through a lineup change when Misterek moved to Oakland, California and Phit moved to Portland, Oregon. In 2008, after playing two final shows with Chiyo Nukaga (Noothgrush) on drums and Miguel Veliz (ex-Sourvein, The Roller) on bass, the band broke up. Four years later, however, they decided to reunite with Nukaga on drums and Greg Wilkinson (Brainoil) on bass, but due to touring constraints, Nukaga and Wilkinson decided to step down.
2013 marked the band’s first venture to Europe, with a lengthy tour, in addition to a string of West Coast performances. 2014 brought forth their first new material since 2005 – GRAVES AT SEA issued a split LP with Sourvein on Seventh Rule Records at the start of their second European tour (this time with Sourvein), a journey that also included appearances at Roadburn Festival and SWR Festival. The split with Sourvein was quickly followed by an EP on Eolian Records titled This Place Is Poison and numerous live US appearances, including performances at Maryland Deathfest and California’s Day Of The Shred Festival. Now, after having joined forces with renowned independent label Relapse Records, GRAVES AT SEA are poised to unveil their anticipated debut, The Curse That Is.
For GRAVES AT SEA coverage in North America contact liz@earsplitcompound.com, in the UK contact pip@relapse.com, in the rest of Europe contact frank@pettingzoo.nl, and elsewhere contact bob@relapse.com.
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