{"id":12297,"date":"2024-09-16T22:54:59","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T02:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heavensmetalmagazine.com\/?p=12297"},"modified":"2024-09-17T08:08:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T12:08:47","slug":"the-brave-gravedigger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heavensmetalmagazine.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/16\/the-brave-gravedigger\/","title":{"rendered":"THE BRAVE: Gravedigger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Unpublished Almost Forgotten Review<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

[This review of Gravedigger<\/em> \u2013 originally slated for publishing early 2023 – was never, for some unknown reason, completed. Regardless, it recently surfaced, and in lieu of the upcoming new album from these guys this year, finally see\u2019s the light of day.]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brave Resurrection \u2013 Part II<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gravedigger<\/em> represents The Brave (resurrected) part II. In 2021 they released Evie\u2019s Little Garden<\/a><\/em>, one of the best sleeper releases from that year, for sure. Akin to Alice Cooper\u2019s trilogy (The Last Temptation<\/em>, Brutal Planet<\/em>, Dragontown<\/em>), which conceptually dealt with the essential problems with humanity (sin), The Brave have refocused and committed to self-releasing a trilogy of records with Stayce Roberts at the helm (man, this guy is a great musician\/writer\/producer).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving away from the Elefante production sheen of the early \u201890\u2019s while retaining the melodic rock\/hard rock grit from that era, Roberts succeeded in Part I in delivering a sincerely brilliant collection of poignant, yet uplifting songs. Gravedigger<\/em> is basically a continuation of that album\u2019s formula, with maybe a few more contemporary twists and experimentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where Alice Cooper chose to expose the disease without expounding upon the cure, The Brave, to their credit, have provided listeners with both the problem and the solution. In comparison to Evie\u2019s Little Garden<\/em>, I think Gravedigger<\/em> is a bit more melodic, more AOR, which might disappoint fans of hard rock\/metal, but it\u2019s so good that those factors should hardly matter. The songwriting and production on this release are phenomenal, and the lyrical integrity is exceptional, so no fan of the band should hesitate to embrace these tunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melodic Bliss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gravedigger <\/em>is just a notch \u201csofter\u201d on the heaviness scale compared to its predecessor, but this isn\u2019t to say the quality has dropped off. Again, I come back to Alice Cooper, who didn\u2019t maintain the metal intensity of Brutal Planet<\/em> on subsequent releases, but that didn\u2019t make Dragontown<\/em> or Welcome to My Nightmare II<\/em> any less enjoyable or thought-provoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vocal melodies on this release are really, really good. I would say the emphasis on heavy music is secondary to the melody and the words. While fans of metal may not find these songs to be their drink of choice, good music is good music. Furthermore, it\u2019s not like there aren\u2019t some great guitar leads and licks going on here, it\u2019s just that with Gravedigger<\/em>, the music serves the vocals\/words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Bottom Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The themes here transparently portray \u2013 without judgment \u2013 the struggles we face living in the world today. I think \u201cStrange New World\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 even though it\u2019s the last song on the album \u2013 nicely sums up the sentiment, the sober observations\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAnd I\u2019m just watching the world we\u2019re living on\/All the promise of hope just seems to be gone\/We\u2019re turning a page, a different age we\u2019re in.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The \u201cpop-y\u201d 80\u2019s groove and keyboards and melodic AOR vocals here perfectly juxtapose the joy of a certain yester-time with the \u201cstrangeness\u201d of the current age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfterlife<\/strong>\u201d is a praise\/contemporary worship styled song about what we look forward to, well\u2026 after life. Simple, humble, beautiful with piano and voice initially subsequently accompanied by drums and bass and then finally a smoothly executed guitar solo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of The Brave\u2019s lyrical ingenuity shines forth on the mid-tempo Alice Cooper meets King\u2019s X rocker about a different take on death from the perspective of \u201cThe Undertaker<\/strong>.\u201d Those King\u2019s X\/Ty Tabor-like bridge and chorus vocals are nicely balanced against the grittier chorus vocals. One of the most colorful and well-executed songs on Gravedigger<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember the introductory comments about The Brave\u2019s willingness to expound upon the cure? \u201cLove is the Only Place<\/strong>\u201d acknowledges pain and restores hope, and its paired nicely in tandem with the similarly encouraging \u201cSomeone\u2019s Watching Over Me<\/strong>,\u201d which offers an antidote to loneliness. While both songs are light rockers, the double bass drum rolls underneath the guitar solo during the breakout of \u201cSomeone\u2019s\u201d imparts a bit more rock heaviness to the mix, and that bass guitar in the ride out section stands out as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it could be argued that \u201cHeaven Knows<\/strong>\u201d clings to the clich\u00e9 elements, both musically and lyrically, of \u201880\u2019s AOR rock\/CCM, the song is executed so perfectly \u2013 the rich vocals calling out in earnest \u2013 that it hardly matters. A healthy reminder wrapped in a delicious trip down memory lane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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