Originally written by Jordan Campbell
Desecration Time is a three-track 7″ (…or digital download, which, in this case, seems a like a more frugal investment for the curious) from fuschia-loving genre-whores Hot Graves. This Floridian quartet trades in an all-too-common-as-of-late mashup of d-beat, thrash, and black metal. As can be expected, such a combination makes for a serious void in terms of heft–you know, that inherent heaviness that makes heavy metal heavy metal. Usually, bands that take the punk / blackthrash angle make up for their lack of crushing power with serious helpings of filth, ferocity, and unhinged aggression… qualities which Hot Graves fails to provide with any hint of conviction.
Sure, the wild-ass guitar solo that closes the title track is as raucous as it gets, but that’s the lone highlight… and it comes on the heels of a lackadaisical, mid-paced digression. “Baphomet’s Revenge” is a kid-school rendering of the blackthrash template, one that could–and should–be easily pulverised under the weight of the longstanding Australian and German practitioners. And the third track is a cred-generating cover of Anti Cimex‘s “Make My Day,” which comes across as unecessary, rigid, and by-the-numbers.
In all fairness, Hot Graves has a few things going for them: an often hot-pink logo, a cute name befitting of a flash-in-the-pan indie darling, and the fact that a lot of trend-hopping, indscriminate ‘heads will glom onto this on the basis of style alone, regardless of whether it’s any fucking good. Which it isn’t. But hey, d-beat and black metal are all the rage these days. Ride the wave.
