Reviewed by Graeme Crawford

Fort Worth, Indiana natives Grave Robber return with their second offering of horror punk anthems. Freely admitting that they are hugely influenced by the Misfits, they lay down a fast, loud yet catchy aural barrage. They have no intention of being musically groundbreaking and are all the better for keeping it straightforward, but it is lyrically that they excel. They are in keeping with the genre in many ways, but with clever Christian twists: living with the Holy Spirit on "I'm Possessed" ("I'm possessed, immortal and undead") and battling demons on "Shadows" ("We declare war, annihilate darkness, 'til there are no more"). They also have a healthy dose of humour such as turning the theme of Edgar Allan Poe's Telltale Heart into a love song for his wife, or being changed by Jesus on 'Altered States' ("I'll be dead perfect one day"). I also suspect that their collective tongues are firmly in cheeks on their excellent unlisted cover of Black Sabbath's 'Children Of The Grave', while their stated aim "to scare the hell out of you!" will raise a smile except amongst those who find the whole concept of Christian horror rock complete anathema. Grave Robber acknowledge that they will mainly play to secular audiences and that many Christians will be put off by their style and look of zombie masks and blood-splashed jumpsuits, but with a label behind them now (Retroactive Records), this intriguing bunch are looking to spread the word to those who would never dream of setting foot in a church.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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