I first heard of Bone Sickness last year when I was referred to their "Bone Sickness" EP, which consisted of two short, but catchy tracks that showed some potential for an awesome release in the future. The band's first full-length "Alone in the Grave" is that potential realized, though they could probably do even better, but I'm not complaining with what the band's conjured up for this filthy release. This is seven tracks of ugly and distorted-as-fuck grind-tinged death metal made to crush the listener. If I had to sum up this 18-minute sonic beatdown in the simplest of terms, I would say this record sounds like the bastard child of Autopsy and Repulsion, though, there's also bits and pieces of Napalm Death and Pungent Stench influence strewn throughout to make for a fun and vulgar listen.
With only seven songs that run less than twenty minutes, Bone Sickness manages to make just about every second count. There isn't time wasted on unworthy riffs or guitar wizardry, just violent riffage made even heavier by insane drumming and low-end growls. The album-opener "Submit to Decay" is an onslaught of catchy riffage, akin to a band like Terrorizer, who never let up on the listener, rather continued to suffocate them with riff after riff after freakin' riff. "Paranoid Delusions" is a more traditional death metal style song featuring it's fair share of tremolo bursts and wicked sounding guitar solos, while the title track is a much heavier affair that conveys the title "Alone in the Grave" pretty damn well. "Alone in the Grave" might not be the greatest death metal album of the 21st century, but it's certainly worth a listen for fans of old-school, putrid metal, thanks to the band's ability to craft simple, yet effective tunes made to be obscene and memorable. Bone Sickness is well on their way to making a bigger name for themselves, as they've carved out a nice niche in the death metal realm with this album. If you like your death metal ugly and crude, this is the record for you; it may not have the impact to grind your bones to dust, but it will do a pretty good job of fracturing just about all of 'em.
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Highlights
"Submit to Decay"
"Tied to the Stake"
Final Rating
4.1/5 or 82%.