Review / 200 Words Or Less
Gravehill
Practitioners Of Fell Sorcery

A389 (2011) Jon E.

Gravehill – Practitioners Of Fell Sorcery cover artwork
Gravehill – Practitioners Of Fell Sorcery — A389, 2011

Gravehill are a band formed from Gehenna. While the band have persevered and continue on to this day this demo is the only recording with this lineup. Formed to fully embrace the members love of old school death metal and hardcore. This lineup including the Gehenna vocalist Mike recorded this and pressed maybe 100 copies total on cassette and cd upon it's initial release. Having since become a hard to find piece of the 7 crowns legacy A389 did the right thing and picked it up to make a real release of it.
What of the music itself? If you took Terrorizer and Gehenna and mangled the corpses together Gravehill would be the inevitable result. Trading in much of the hardcore tendencies of Gehenna for grinding metallic riffs and demonic content this shows the members love of metal. The guitars blaze along creating semi melodic (not Gothenberg style) backdrops for what may be the most demonic vocals Mike Cheese has ever committed to tape . This only helps to convey the truly evil lyrical imagery within the lyrics. The music is played in a very non technical style instead they rely on being menacing and fast throughout. This does little to hurt the band as their style is meant to be simple.
This piece of Gehenna's history has been given an opportunity to be re-birthed, remastered and given it's proper due. While it will most likely not appeal to most new metal fans due to both it's recording style and lack of pretense it does shine a light on the influences that the members carry and how musically adept they are. As homage goes this is near the top as for something new this does little to bring something truly different to the table. The simple fact is this is old school style death made for those that love it by those that love it.

7.8 / 10Jon E. • August 15, 2011

Gravehill – Practitioners Of Fell Sorcery cover artwork
Gravehill – Practitioners Of Fell Sorcery — A389, 2011

Related news

Gravehill adds new guitarist

Posted in Bands on August 1, 2010

Gravehill, Cardiac Arrest, Hod tour

Posted in Tours on June 13, 2010

Recently-posted album reviews

Pallette Knife

Keyframe
Take This To Heart Records (2026)

There’s a fine line between being a quirky emo band with scene references and something that actually sticks. On Keyframe, Columbus trio Palette Knife don’t just flirt with that line but sharpen it, name it after a Final Fantasy item, and build ten huge choruses around it. The band’s self-described “Nerd-Core-Mid-West-Emo” tag could easily read like a gimmick, but this … Read more

The Downstrokes

The Furious Hours
Independent (2026)

There is a specific kind of sultry, salty sweat that only happens in a room with low ceilings and a tube amp screaming a warm hum for forgiveness. You can smell the lingering kerosene and the stale beer on The Downstrokes’ latest LP, The Furious Hours, before the needle even hits the groove. It’s the sound of a band that … Read more

The Arrivals

Payload
Recess (2026)

It's been a short lifetime since the last Arrivals record, Volatile Molotov, but in many ways the new Payload picks up exactly where the last one left off. It straddles the mid-tempo punk spectrum while drawing influence from seemingly all realms of the rock 'n' roll cannon. I'd state that mod, power-pop, Brit Invasion, and even R&B are some of … Read more