A review of Death Racer "From Gravel To Grave"

 

Death Racer

"From Gravel To Grave"

Dying Victims Prod. 2024

 

Do you like The Crown and their "Deathrace King"? I do, in my opinion it's the best album in the Swedes' career. The reason I’m asking is not because Austrian Death Racer is a direct reference to the aforementioned band, but because it clearly follows a similar theme at first glance. Both the name and the cover artwork immediately bring Tervonen and Co. to mind. OK, but let's get down to what the Austrians present on their debut. These eight compositions can be described as slightly blackened speed metal, of course, knowing the release profile of Dying Victims, in the old style. Musically, it is nothing revelatory. It can be said that Death Racer once again remind us of the melodies that reigned supreme in the 1980s. So there are a lot of feisty chords, an upbeat (but moderate) tempo, d-beat tapping and slightly distorted vocals on this album. The melodies are simple, perhaps not immediately catchy, but not demanding of the listener's exceptional concentration. This music is meant to bring joy and encourage fun, not test the listener's endurance in discovering each next layer. All the more so because there is no second bottom here. This is old-school music paying homage to the pioneers of the genre forty years ago. With From Gravel To Grave you can have a cold beer, stomp your feet and smile broadly remembering your youth. In addition, the gentlemen have chosen a rather interesting theme, which I partially mentioned in the introduction. This is because the topic of Formula 1 runs through the composition, either in the radio samples or the lyrics, the title one of which refers directly to the last race in the life of the great rally driver that was unquestionably Ayrton Senna. I'm not going to lie that Death Racer is some kind of a great discovery, because in the genre in question, and even in the Dying Victims stable, you can find a few representatives of black/thrash metal pushing the accelerator pedal much harder, but the material is so solid that it's worth devoting a few, nomen omen, laps to it. So do as your heart tells you. For me, it’s a decent album.

- jesusatan