LIQUID GRAVEYARD

"By Nature So Perverse" is the third full-length studio album by multi-national metal act Liquid Graveyard. The album was released through Sleaszy Rider Records in June 2016. It´s the successor to "The Fifth Time I Died" from 2011. There have been a couple of lineup changes since the last album as drummer Gustavo Segura has been replaced by Nicholas Barker and bassist Al Jimenez has been replaced by Shane Embury. The newcommers are of course both very prolific British musicians who are known from their involvement in artists like Napalm Death, Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, and Brujeria, just to mention a few.

I don´t know if it´s the inclusion of the two new gentlement to the lineup, or if the ressurrection of guitarist John Walker´s other band Cancer in 2013 have anything to do with it, but "By Nature So Perverse" is a much more potent, intense, and extreme metal oriented release than the two preceding album releases from Liquid Graveyard. The two previous albums featured a strong progressive metal/avant-garde metal element, but that part of the band´s sound is considerably toned down on "By Nature So Perverse", which instead focuses almost exclusively on the death metal and thrash/groove metal influences which were also a big part of the earlier releases. There´s even the odd nod towards grindcore here and there, so "By Nature So Perverse" is generally a pretty extreme release.

To my ears this new more "normal" sound suits Liquid Graveyard much better. As much as I always praise bold and adventurous music, the first two Liquid Graveyard albums just felt inconsistent and the experimental part of the band´s music didn´t really work. So they´ve taken the best elements from the first releases and have built on them to create the powerful, raw, angry, and brutal sound on "By Nature So Perverse". Lead vocalist Raquel Walker (married to John) solely performs blackened snarling vocals on this album and doesn´t perform clean vocals like she did on the preceding releases from Liquid Graveyard.

Upon conclusion "By Nature So Perverse" is a bit unexpected if you´re familiar with the earlier Liquid Graveyard albums. Usually an artist turn on some knobs between releases, but Liquid Graveyard have turned the extreme metal knob all the way to the top and I´m sure the addition of Barker and Embury have given the Walkers a push in that direction. A good quality release overall and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

"The Fifth Time I Died" is the second full-length studio album by multi-national metal act Liquid Graveyard. The album was released through Rising Records in March 2011. It´s the successor to "On Evil Days" from 2009 and there have been two lineup changes since the predecessor as bassist Adrian de Buitléar has been replaced by Al Jimenez and drummer Acaymo Delgado has been replaced by Gustavo Segura. Only guitarist John Walker and vocalist Raquel Walker remain from the lineup who recorded "On Evil Days".

Stylistically the material on "The Fifth Time I Died" continues the hybrid death metal, thrash/groove metal, progressive metal, avant-garde metal style of "On Evil Days". Walker still sings both snarling blackened extreme metal vocals and clean vocals. The album is both well performed and well produced (although the sound production has a dry digital quality to it, which is a bit lifeless), but just as the case was on the previous album, the songwriting leaves a bit to be desired. The tracks are powerful and also entertaining while they play, but they aren´t particularly memorable. "The Fifth Time I Died" is still a good quality release, and I find it intriguing at some points, but as a whole listening experience it´s not consistent enough. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

"On Evil Days" is the debut full-length studio album by multi-national metal act Liquid Graveyard. The album was released through My Kingdom Music in October 2009. Liquid Graveyard was formed in 2006 by married couple John Walker (Cancer, Absolute Power) and Raquel Walker (Ab'fs). John performs the guitars and Raquel performs the vocals on the album. the bass is performed by Adrian de Buitl'ar and the drums are performed by Acaymo Delgado. Liquid Graveyard was born after the second split-up of Cancer.

Stylistically the music on "On Evil Days" is a mix of death metal, thrash/groove metal, progressive metal, and avant-garde metal. Walker sings both snarling blackened extreme metal vocals but also clean vocals. While some riffs are recognisable as riffs which could have been included on a Cancer album, Liquid Graveyard are a different kind of beast to Walker's more well known other band. This is music which is very hard to describe correctly because of the many different musical elements used and combined. It's certainly a both creative and unconventional sounding release that's for sure...

When the songs are dominated by Walker's clean vocals (like on "Criministers"), I'm sometimes reminded of the Norwegians in Matter Mortem, but that's not the case at all when she screams and snarls her blackened vocals at the listener. The band are well playing and Walker is a skilled vocalist and paired with the powerful, detailed, and well sounding production job, "On Evil Days" is definitely both a well performed and well produced release. For all the adventurous ideas and creative songwriting, it's the songs which lack something to elevate "On Evil Days" to a higher plane. So upon conclusion it's a good quality release but it seldom reaches excellence and therefore a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).