How do I love thee Grave? Let me count the ways. It is the heart and soul of demonic growler, guitarist, and sole original member Ola Lindgren and the way he keeps the machine running in such a well-oiled manner. It is the rottenness and sheer weight of those riffs, the ugly enormousness of the grooves, and the omnipresent stench of evil. Don’t get me wrong; I too love the other members of the Swedish Big 4 (Entombed, Unleashed, and Dismember), but Grave is the band I return to again and again. In other words, Grave is one of “my bands.” And let me tell you, there is nothing about Endless Procession of Souls that has changed my mind about Grave’s inclusion in that elite group. In fact, the album is so good that it has made me appreciate the filthy beast even more.

I’ll even go so far as to say that it is one of the best albums Grave has ever released. The grotesque grooves and putrid pummeling more often than not are delivered at breakneck speeds. Just as engrossing though is when the pace slows to make way for some fantastic grooves and Autopsy-esque journeys into dread. On the groovy end of the spectrum, the cases in point are numerous, not the least of which include the mid-paced parts of “Encountering the Divine,” the down-tempo moments of “Disembodied Steps” and the chorus of “Passion of the Weak” (one of the more memorable cuts). In other words, the speeding-romp-to-grinding-groove change up factor here cannot be overstated. It is only iniquitous closer “Epos” on which the band never floors it, opting instead for a sickening plod, which moves past the mid-tempo point. As it turns out, the seven-and-a-half minute cut is one of the album’s finest moments, not unlike how Grave wrapped up Dominion VIII with “8th Dominion.”

The fact is that everything Grave has done so well over the years has been poured into Endless Procession of Souls. Any comparison to the youthful primitivism of all-time-classic Into the Grave is a meaningless exercise (and has been for years now); you just don’t reproduce that sort of thing. Instead, what is vital to note here is that Grave doesn’t just locate the sweet spot; it stomps the ever living shit out of it! Endless Procession of Souls again finds Grave tromping about in all that grit ‘n gristle and showing the youngsters what effective tempo and riff variation is all about. Don’t forget about Ola either. When you add Lindgren’s malevolent death-roar into this mix, you end up with straight-A marks and 90th percentile placement.

Endless Procession of Souls is pure Grave magnificence. I’m not prepared to say it is Grave’s finest moment, especially considering the existence of personal favorites like As Rapture Comes, Dominion VIII, and yes, Into the Grave. It is however right up there with those albums. One thing is for certain; Endless Procession of Souls is guaranteed to be included in my 2012 top-10 list, if not the top-5. Ain’t love grand?

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