If there is one thing we have been consistent about over the last many years, it's our assessment that Graveyard may just be be the best band of this generation. No, they may not generate the headlines, and they may not have broken into the mainstream, but they are making the kind of timeless music that can comfortably sit in the pantheon of rock and roll decades from now. And since they have just graced us with a new album, this seems like a good time to look back at what they have accomplished so far.
Let's take a wide-angle look and assess where they have already been.
Number 6:
Chris C: Peace
When Graveyard returned, they did so with a newfound hunger. Here, they still have their mix of classic rock and slow blues, but the energy and volume is turned up. This is their heaviest album, and the guitars roar with a hint of fuzz from over-saturating the mics as the tape rolled. This record is unique among their catalog, but what makes it unique is what holds it back from moving higher. While the songs are classic Graveyard, the intensity doesn't let the slow moments breathe as much as they did before. The record actually rocks slightly too hard, and I dearly miss the band's dynamic playing.
D.M: Graveyard
I don't understand why Chris has this so high. Come to think of it, I don't understand why so many Graveyard fans holds this album in high regard. Is it fine? Yeah. Has literally every album since then been better? Also yeah. This album is memorable for the way in which it showcases the band's future potential, but much like The Sword's "Age of Winters" this album is no more than a harbinger of things to come (here comes Sword fan hatemail.)
Number 5:
Chris C: 6
That looks so weird to write, and it's a good reason why I hate when bands rely on such an easy 'out' when coming up with a title. Anyway, the takeaway here is that Graveyard only has the one misstep in their catalog, with everything else sitting comfortably in elite (or nearly elite) company. They shifted from their heaviest album to their moodiest, and while that leaves the songs perhaps feeling a bit less song-like, the pervasive atmosphere of the record is more than enough to win me over. This bleak record points to an optimistic future.
D.M: 6
And just like that, we agree! And let's make no mistake, there is a considerable step up from the self-titled album to this one. Considerable. From this point forward, we're picking among giants. Where "6" falls in reference to the albums coming on this list is that it a) does not represent an evolutionary change in sound, as the others do, and b) relies a little too heavily on the slow-burn mechanic that Graveyard is so intrinsically good at.
Number 4:
Chris C: Innocence & Decadence
We are now in elite territory. I was not shy in saying that this record was, at the time it came out, the one I found myself distant from. But time has a way of changing opinions, and what was once a weak record has become a dynamo, especially as "6" has become the spiritual successor to it. Now, I hear the softer dynamics as a boon, letting the band show off more facets of their personality. The songs are more mature, more experimental than I gave them credit for, and they form one of those records that slowly creeps up on you. Before I knew it was happening, I became entranced.
D.M: Lights Out
There are a lot of memorable cuts on this album, but for some reason it's never connected with me the way it should have. Which is doubly weird because "Slow Motion Countdown" might be my favorite Graveyard song, and "Endless Night" is a banger, too, but...I don't know. This just isn't my album, as dumb as that sounds.
Number 3:
Chris C: Lights Out
Upon release, I compared this album to a time capsule, our way of knowing what it felt like as Led Zeppelin was releasing their finest works. Over the course of barely more than half an hour, Graveyard lays waste to every bitter old man saying "back in my day..." From the perfect sequencing that alternates the short and heavy rock tracks with the slower bluesy ballads, to the sharpening of the melodic edge so that every riff and vocal line is a hook in itself, "Lights Out" is the one album that I say without hesitation would have been a stone-cold classic if it had been released in 1972 instead of 2012. That being said, I have found myself gravitating to other records when I need to hear Graveyard. As classic as it is, other albums have grow even stronger.
D.M Peace
And now we're into the all-time greats. I love "Peace." I love the presentation, I love the thick production, I love structure of the songs, I love the heavy-handed rock vibes. It's a great record.
Number 2:
Chris C: Graveyard
The debut album many will have forgotten about is one that showcases Graveyard as a band that emerged fully-formed. Right off the bat, they have perfected their blend of classic rock and blues, coupled with one of the best guitar tones I've ever heard. They are a bit rough around the edges, and they had not matured into their voices yet, but they had delivered an album filled with the deceptive difficulty of simplicity, turning three chords into something far deeper. It's also a record that bristles with the kind of energy that can't be duplicated, and there is something exciting about putting this one on I can't get from anything else they have done. Some days, I think it's even my favorite...
D.M: Innocence & Decadence
Easily my most controversial choice on this list. I&D is often the forgotten album in the Graveyard pantheon, and with good reason: it's their most undefined, least focused, most random effort. It's the first time since their under-the-radar debut that they played around with an alternate vocalist. There's a soul, choral-backed chorus at one point, the songs don't link to each other well. But each bite from the record is something new and different for the band, it's where they stretched their legs the most. And I just adore it. (Go figure; I think "Relentless Reckless Forever" is the best Children of Bodom album, and I'm pretty sure both the band (RIP) and their fans hate it.)
Number 1:
Chris C: Hisingen Blues
From that initial statement, Graveyard took a step even further forward, putting out a nearly flawless record. This album finds them perfecting their craft, writing track after track that fuses power, beauty, and razor-sharp songwriting. It is as if the band had cracked open a vein of musical inspiration, growing decades in mere years. This album shows them as the fully matured band ready to take their place at the head of the table. Of all the bands playing a modern version of classic rock, this is be the single best album produced by any of them. In fact, it has convinced me many times I like 'vintage rock' more than I actually do, since no one else can do what Graveyard did in this compact and killer record. There are no blues here, only the bruises of being hit by genius.
D.M: Hisingen Blues
There's a million aphoristic axioms about remembering your first love, and some of that applies here. The band has moved on from this platform to ascend to greater heights with more mature and exploratory writing, but something about this album sticks to your ribs in a way the others don't. It's difficult to describe, but that seems part and parcel with an analog experience that's warm and fuzzy around all the right edges.
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