A harrowing descent into some of the most grotesque and atmospheric death metal ever crafted as Hrob unleash their debut album.

HROB

Hailing from Slovakia, Hrob’s (Grave) virtually undecipherable logo tells you exactly the type of death metal they deal in. Formed in  late 2021 by Michal (guitar, vocals) and Kiko (guitar) as a side project to Krudus and after a couple of line-up changes in the intervening years Matej (drums) and Vrana (bass), who also play in Krudus and Radiation respectively, Hrob has become a fully-fledged band gigging across a handful of European countries.

In 2023 they laid down the foundations of their sound with self-titled demo containing four sonic abominations. Three years later the band unveil their debut full length. It continues the path set down on their demo as labels Memento Mori and Night Terror Records release album on CD and vinyl respectively.

BRÁNA CHLADU

It was clear on the demo that Hrob’s mission is to create some of the most disturbing, horrific and unnerving music imaginable. Brána chladu (Gate Of Cold) fully delivers on that mission with eleven monstrous tracks that drag the listener through a bleak and terrifying soundscape as even the cover art conveys a chilling bleakness. The Slovak language vocals deepen the darkness as the haunting intro piece feeds into opening track Chrám prázdnoty (Temple Of The Void).

What manifests after said is inhumanly barbaric; putrid abhorrent vocals blended with eerily presented guitar hooks that radiate an unsettling aura. After the initial blast the song plunges into a doom-death fog that has some hints of very early, and I mean early, Paradise Lost. Lunging riffs and despairing guitar melodies bleed into the sludge ridden pacing as the track seems to slow with each passing second until it is crawling through gutter filled slime.

TIENE STROMOV

As the opener fades into oblivion, Tiene stromov (Shadows Of Trees) smashes in after two snare taps with detonating violence. Hrob centralise their sound sinister atmospherics, intertwining guitars and an insanely low vocal tone that feels like a descent into a subterranean crypt. Dank fetid riffing ricochets around purposeful drumming and sporadic blast insertions while a myriad of haunting leads veer from melodic to a nightmarish screeching shrill.

Genocída snov (Genocide Of Dreams) fades in like slithering insidious ice as the slow stench driven riffing as the doom pacing thickens the atmosphere before the an abrupt speed surge hits. The abrupt explosion is tempered by the wondrous seeping guitar hooks that infuse an evocative melancholy as supernatural dread grips vehemently. The speed insertions feel uncontrollable, channelling unsurpassed primal energy into malevolent deathly brutality.

ZOTROČENÝ OHEŇ

The album’s morbidity is woven into its seamless flow, as sinister interlude Medzihra leads into Zotročený oheň (Enslaved Fire). It explodes with unmitigated wrath before plummeting into doom-death darkness. The abyssal crawling pace alternates with periodic blasts as the chillingly effective guitar lines worm through the mix like tendrils of corruption.

This leaves the immense title track. Escalating tension is driven by a spiralling guitar melody that lets the rotting vocals take centre stage. It is the slowest and most ominous track, skulking doom-death thickened by the cavernous double bass sudden speed shift. That spiralling motif burrows into the listener, crafting palpable horror that carries into the gentle outro piece which feels like the bleak aftermath sonic Armageddon.

Brána chladu is a meticulously crafted vision of traumatising and visceral death metal. It feels as corrupting as it is compelling. 

Hrob: Bandcamp

Memento Mori (CD): Website

Night Terrors Records (Vinyl): Website

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