MP3 Grave Robber - Be Afraid + 1
If you like your gothic/horror hard rock spiked with a little arsenic and a healthy dose of dark humor, check out Be Afraid. Band members Dr. Cadaver, Nameless, and Maggot offer you chainsaw guitars, super-tight arrangements, and blatant morbitity.
15 MP3 Songs
METAL/PUNK: Gothic Metal, METAL/PUNK: Punk Metal
Details:
If you like your gothic/horror hard rock spiked with a little arsenic and a healthy dose of dark humor, check out Be Afraid! Band members Dr. Cadaver, Nameless, and Maggot offer you chainsaw guitars, super-tight arrangements, and blatant morbidity wrapped around insanely catchy choruses. Wretched provides elite vocal skills in a mesmerizing Danzig/Rob Halford sort of way! For fans of Alice Cooper, Type-O-Negative, The Misfits and Danzig! See them in concert at Cornerstone 2008!
GRAVE ROBBER HAS OPENED FOR: Blitzkid, Calabrese, Dope, (Ex-Misfits) Dr. Chud''s X-Ward, Firstjason (featuring Ari Lehman, the first Jason Vorhees from Friday the 13th), The Independents, Bobaflex, and The Autumn Offering.
WRETCHED (vocalist) HAS OPENED FOR: Agent Orange, At The Drive In, Building 429, Calibretto, Cracker, Dead Poetic, Disciple, Ghoti Hook, Headnoise, (hed) PE, The Huntingtons, Jackyl, Jeremy Camp, John Rueben, Joy Electric, Kids In The Way, Los Gusanos (C. J. Ramone), Marky Ramone and The Intruders, The Misfits, Mute Math, Papa Roach, Petra, Relient K, Saliva, Skillet, Squad 5-0, Stryper, Superchic[k], The Undead (Ex-Misfits Bobby Steele), The Urge, The Verve Pipe, W.A.S.P., and tons more!
DR. CADAVER HAS OPENED FOR: Atreyu, Billy Idol, Fall Out Boy, The Offspring, dropkick murphys, my chemical romance, and Taking Back Sunday
De MUERTE HAS OPENED FOR: Godsmack and Stryper,
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REVIEWS:
(Whatzup Magazine)
Grave Robber
Be Afraid
If I burst anybody''s bubble here, I''m sorry. Despite the spooky cover art, album title (Be Afraid) and, uh, the band''s name, Grave Robber''s brand of ghoulish cool is more along the lines of the Munsters hot rod than, say, Saw IV. This is great news if you like your punk rock spiked with a little arsenic and a healthy dose of dark humor. Be Afraid kicks off, predictably enough, with a spooky ambient soundscape dominated, natch, by a droning organ on "The Exorcist." A subterranean voice intones what could only be construed as a garbled curse that forces your hand to turn the volume knob all the way to the right as soon as "Skeletons" kicks in. This high-speed, Misfits-fueled tune sets the mood for the rest of this assured, great-sounding album (expertly recorded at T.T. Bush Studios). It''s chock-full of great Goth-punk, with enough cheekiness to let you breathe a little as you tiptoe through the bone yard, and a little whiff of vintage Jane''s Addiction-esque vibe is thrown in for good measure. Upping the hilarity quotient, "Burn, Witch, Burn" brims with a Danzig-meets-Spinal Tap feel, while Grave Robber''s unrelenting chainsaw guitars are offset by cartoonish content; it''s easy to picture a mosh pit surrounding a hapless figure being burned at the stake, as vocalist Wretched warbles, "You''re guilty by a mile / your mouth is filled with bile." Say what you want about that couplet, it rhymes. "Rigor Mortis" features a few new-wave-y touches amongst its stuttering monster beat, while massed "whoas" and a hearty refrain of "Rigor Mortis" drum the song''s title into your head repeatedly, a la Judas Priest. The breakneck tempos and super-tight arrangements never let up as Wretched gives you his best Danzig/Rob Halford throughout Be Afraid. The violent pace is broken up briefly by the leg-dragging, lumbering instrumental, "Golgotha", then it''s back up to speed (apparently Starbucks has opened a new joint in one of the local graveyards). "I Wanna Kill You Over and Over Again" is not only a contender for Song Title of the Year, the song is also an unholy amalgam of old-school rock n'' roll and blatant morbidity, and, if that''s not enough, the chorus is insanely catchy ("I want to kill you over and over again / my friend"). Even though these guys (Nameless on guitar, Maggot on bass, Dr. Cadaver on "doom tubs", and all contributing what the liner notes refer to as "Vokills") clearly want to dispose of us in the most cruel and horrifying manner possible, you can''t help but pull for ''em. For more information, shamble over to https://www.tradebit.com (D.M. Jones)
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(https://www.tradebit.com)
Grave Robber
(Be Afraid)
A genre you won''t come across a lot when wandering through the ''''christian extreme music'''' - realm is Grave Robbers horror influenced punk. This American band is wearing zombie and skeleton masks and has titles as Rigor Mortis and the Exorcist to fit the genre perfectly. I don''t listen to a lot of punk music but I have to say that from the moment I heard the songs on this album I was pleasantly surprised. These guys know how to bring some catchy stuff with lots of energy. The vocals are raw and powerful, most of the time they are semi-clean and they hit the notes well, the other members sing too, quite some times in this "oh-oh-oh" kind of choir. The guitars are not extremely outstanding "guitarshredmadness", but they play on a simple but well executed way, something typical for this kind of music. Drums make the music quite intense by controlling the tempo. Again, this is no super-innovative playing, but I don''t think this is what I would want, it fits the music, and that is most important. The songs on this album are all on the short side, most of the time around 2-3minutes. Some people might dislike this, but then again you get 14 songs, and it also keeps the music fresh, because I''m sure that if their songs were much longer it would grow a bit boring. The Exorcist, the intro-track of this album is quite haunting, building up a huge atmosphere with a keyboard and vocals with an effect on, it really fits their horror-theme. The sound quality of the album is great, everything sounds smooth. If I think about it, I wouldn''t have mind it if it was a tad more raw. My favourite track on this album is track 6, Buried Alive, starting of with a sound clip of someone using a shovel. This song has a nice diversion in the vocals, and represents the diversity of them throughout the album I think, the song has the typical ''Requiem''-riff going on at one point too, which is a fun surprise too. The track after (Screams of the Voiceless) starts and ends with a baby crying, which is another thing you''ll notice when listening to the album, Grave Robber uses quite a bit sound samples on their album. I have to say that I enjoy this album quite a lot, I don''t listen to punk a lot, but I have caught myself several times already taking out this album when I don''t know what to listen. Even though the title is Be afraid, you shouldn''t be afraid to check out this album ;).
Review by Matt (January 18 - 2008)
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INTERVIEWS:
(Fort Wayne Reader)
Grave Robber
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
Fort Wayne Reader
2008-03-10
Larry Norman, ''the father of Christian rock music,'' recently passed away, but in his lifetime he influenced everyone from Bob Dylan and David Bazan to Frank Black and Bono. In 1972, he famously quipped ''Why should the devil have all the good music?''
In the here and now, Grave Robber — Wretched (vocals/guitar), Dementia (bass) and Dr. Cadaver (drums) — are doing everything they can to even the musical score. The trio plays Christian punk music and while that might seem like an oxymoron, keep in mind that there is also Christian gangsta rap and, even, Christian death metal. Remember: Anything Satan can do, God can do better.
One listen to Grave Robber''s music and you realize that they aren''t playing it safe. This isn''t Benny Hinn fronting The Sex Pistols. The lyrics aren''t nearly as overt as you might imagine. These guys were raised on the same ragged, guitar driven tunes as any other modern punk band, but they play their version of it with a twist. The result is part The
Misfits, part One Bad Pig and all completely genuine.
While Grave Robber has only been fully functioning since 2005, the idea for the band was hatched back in 2002. Wretched explains, "In church one day, we were discussing how in Romans it talks about being dead and being dead to sin. Immediately following that, we took communion. So, being dead and eating flesh and drinking blood, symbolically, we thought, ''Oh, wow! We''re zombies!'' We were big Misfits fans and we were talking about doing a Christian Misfits band. We were friends with The Huntingtons, who are kind of the Christian Ramones, and we wondered if there was a way to be spooky and scary and if it would work and be acceptable. There was a lot of prayer behind it. Suddenly, all of the band members were in the right place at the right time and we decided to do it. But, I said I didn''t want to do it until God said it was time, so we waited another year."
The wait was worth it. Dr. Chud, former drummer for The Misfits, came to town to do a show and Grave Robber ended up opening for him. Wanting to incorporate their love for horror movies, comic books and spooky punk bands, the band donned costumes, complete with masks, as part of their live show. "The imagery does have significance. There''s a double meaning to everything we do," points out Wretched, "There are things in The Bible that are actually pretty scary and there''s lots of blood, guts, gore, war and pestilence. We didn''t really feel that was our goal to expose that, but we thought it would be cool in a Misfits sounding song. Really, it comes down to the fact that we were wishing there was a band like that and since we couldn''t find one, we made one."
Things took off after that. They began writing more songs and released a five song demo, though that is long out of print. The band also released their version of ''Love Hurts,'' a tune covered by everyone from Gram Parsons to Nazareth. Grave Robber''s take on the song was pressed on 7" red vinyl and housed in a glow in the dark sleeve. They sold enough copies to cover the cost of licensing.
Eventually, they had enough songs to record a full length album. "Be Afraid" was recorded last year at Bushong Studios and was completed by October. The result is considered to be a demo at this point and while the album is available for download on the band''s MySpace and at their shows, the fully realized version of the album will be released later this Spring on Retroactive Records, a label specializing in re-releasing albums by Christian metal bands of the 80s and 90s.
When the album is officially released it will be a remastered recording and sport brand new cover art, courtesy of the same artist who has created album covers for Manowar.
"The label hired him to do it and I have no idea what it will look like," admits Wretched, "But, I do know that there will be a bonus track. Angel, who''s the drummer for Dope, did a techno remix of ''Rigor Mortis'' that will be on the album now. We played a show with them and he''s a big fan of The Misfits. So, when he saw us he thought we were great and a month later he told us about his side project, Team Cybergeist, and wondered if we''d like to have a remix for one of our songs on a compilation he is putting out on Toxic Shock Records. However, we retain the rights to the remix, so we''re going to add it as a bonus track."
Another highlight of the upcoming year will be the band''s appearance at Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, Illinois. They will be playing the Underground stage on the last day of the festival, which takes place June 30th through July 5th. Their performance will be the very last one of the event. "When As I Lay Dying finishes their set on the Main stage, there''s only going to be one show and one place to go. It''s the perfect spot," notes Wretched.
Given that the show will take place in the heat of summer, the fact that the band will be wearing their costumes will obviously cause some discomfort. "It''s kind of gross, but funny at the same time. You sweat so bad that all of a sudden it''s a relief, because you''re in water and you''re swimming inside of your costume."
Beyond releasing the album and playing Cornerstone and a steady number of shows throughout the mid-West, the only other major goal of the band is to find a full time guitarist. "I''d love to find a guitar player! First of all, when you say Christian you''ve taken the talent pool down to 1% and then you say, ''Oh, by the way, we''re punk'' and it becomes .000 something. Not to mention, we dress up in costumes and sing scary music. Finding that guy is going to be incredibly difficult."
I
t''s nice to know that however hard the challenge to find a six string player may be, some things remain decidedly simple. Like the music of Grave Robber. "We do one thing and that''s it. What it is is what it is. If someone said all of the songs sound alike, I''d say ''Thank you!'' That''s kind of the point." - Shawn Smith
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https://www.tradebit.com
Interview with Grave Robber
February 21 - 2008
I had the chance to interview Wretched from Grave Robber, US-based punk band. If you want to check them out, visit Grave Robber''s myspace!
JesusMetal: Could you please give an introduction to yourself, the band and the other members involved ?
Wretched: I am Wretched, vocalist and guitarist. Dr. Cadaver is on drums and backing utterances. Dementia is our newest member, he plays bass and does backing vocals.
JesusMetal: Grave Robber could be defined as ''horror punk'', a genre not too frequently seen in the christian scene, how are the reactions ? (both from Christians and from non-Christians)
Wretched: Correction: Grave Robber IS a horror punk band! haha!
Oddly enough (or perhaps not so oddly) the only negative reactions we''ve gotten thus far has been from Christians, who don''t understand why we do what we do. Mature Christians may not fully understand how God has called us and is using us. It''s ok, tho because Grave Robber doesn''t exist to play for them. We aren''t a band that plays for Christians by and large. We play for the lost in the horror punk scene and present Christ''s message of hope to this particular subculture in their own language, much the same way the apostle Paul did with the philosophers at Mars Hill in Athens. Their world views and philosophies were skewed and Paul brought them the gospel by using their own poetry and their artwork. Grave Robber does the same thing.
JesusMetal: How do you get in the mood for writing music or lyrics ? What bands influence you ? Are there other things that influence you?
Wretched: Honestly, it''s really not from horror films. Mainly ideas come from The Word, sermons at church, CNN news, talk shows, and just hanging out with lost people and listening to their struggles. Then we put those particular issues that have been spoken of into Misfits-esque songs to minister to people who like that kinda music. Musically, Grave Robber is mainly influenced by The Misfits, Alice Cooper, Type O Negative, The Ramones, Danzig, The Undead, Blitzkid, Calabrese, Black Sabbath, The Independents, Rob Zombie, etc.
JesusMetal: Congrats on the Be Afraid album, are you guys happy with it ? How has it been received?
Wretched: Extremely happy. It came out beter than we imagined. It was recorded in one day, 16 hours start to finish. Tim Bushong (Channel Surfers, Lovewar) engineered and recorded it. He did an amazing job. God''s anointing was on that day, too! Everything went better than we could have imagined, but then through God all things are possible, right?
So far, we haven''t heard any complaints, y''know? We have been getting tons of hits a day on our myspace with tons of compliments on the songs. Non-Christians seem to not have an issue that we are followers of Christ, they just like the songs. I believe that God''s word doesn''t return void, tho!
JesusMetal: You guys wear costumes on stage, like skeleton and zombie masks, is there some explanation for this ? Do you also link this with your faith ? Maybe you could also share some info on the names, such as the wretched, Dr. Cadaver, is this just for fun, or is their some spiritual meaning behind it ?
Wretched: All imagery and visuals have significance. The skull logo with mouth sewn shut symbolizes death finally being silenced by Christ. The brown and red paint on the costumes symbolizes the blood of Christ covering our "dirt" or sin. The zombie-like masks that cover our faces symbolizing our earthy flesh, or our sin nature, which is daily fading away as we push into our Savior. The songs all point to Jesus and the gospel message. Even the name, Grave Robber is symbolic. The band''s name references Jesus'' return as the true grave robber, when as Christ followers we will be "raised as incorruptible, and we shall be changed" and "Death is swallowed up in victory". (1 Cor. 15:52, 54) While in church one evening, the message of Romans 6:11, which instructs to "reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God yet alive in Christ" was preached just prior to communion. This concept of being "dead" to sin and symbolically eating the flesh and drinking the blood, coupled with a passion to reach a people who are largely ignored by the church, sparked a flame in the hearts of the members of Grave Robber to begin this unique ministry. Our names are basically just for fun, but do have a slight spiritual meaning. They are names that indicate us being "dead" to sin and the world''s values. For instance, my name, Wretched comes from Romans 7:24 which says: "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
JesusMetal: You guys recently got signed to Retroactive Records, how did that go ? Are you guys happy with the signing ?
Wretched: I was in another band that submitted to Retroactive. When I sent the demo to them, I threw in the Grave Robber disc just because. Matt Hunt from Retroactive likes Grave Robber better, it''s just that simple! I am very happy with Retroactive thus far. They hired the guy who did artwork for Manowar to redo the artwork for "Be Afraid" and also paid for Angel, the drummer for Dope to do a techno remix of on of our songs as a bonus track. Plus, Retroactive remastered "Be Afraid", so it will sound awesome! Retroactive has incredible distribution to the Christian market and isn''t opposed to getting secular distro going for us, too. How could I not appreciate all of that? haha.
JesusMetal: Be Afraid got released by ExAlternative Recordings in 2007, which is not too long ago, are there some plans of a new album already ? If so, what can we expect ?
Wretched: Oh yeah! We have been planning a new disc since the day after finishing "Be Afraid"! Honestly, eXalternative Recordings is me. It was a tag we just through on the disc to give it more legitimacy. Retroactive is a real record label. technically the other eXalternative version is the demo. You''ll see the major difference when the Retroactive verison comes out. As far as recording a new cd, we will just have to see what the year brings. I''d expect to record late in the year, tho.
JesusMetal: Could you share some precious moments you have experienced during your time playing in Grave Robber ?
Wretched: Well, anytime we''ve been able to lead someone in a prayer to accept Jesus as savior is awesome. Probably my favorite moment ever was praying with Goolsby of Blitzkid when his mother was dying of cancer. He turned and cried on my shoulder. He said he hadn''t prayed like that in a long, long time. It seems like every time we play something awesome happens, so it''s difficult to pinpoint a particular thing. I also appreciate watching us as band members grow in Christ.
We are playing some pretty big festivals this year, so I''m sure this would be a better question to answer at the end of the summer! haha.
JesusMetal:Any expectations for the future of Grave Robber ? Any things you''d love to fulfil ?
Wretched: I''d love to do a new disc, tour Europe, and just keep on being a servant of The Most High!
JesusMetal: Thanks for your time, do you have any final comments ?
Wretched: Well, thank you for taking the time to do this interview! I''d also like to invite everyone to go to our myspace site and send us a friend request at: https://www.tradebit.com Mostly, we want to thank God for giving us this incredible ministry! I can''t think of a more enjoyable way to serve him!
Interview by Matt, February 21, 2008
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https://www.tradebit.com
GRAVE ROBBER
Interview by Wheat
1. How long have you guys known each other and how long have you been together as a band? Where are you from?
Wretched: We''ve been a band since 2005. Muerte and I met in 2002. Dr. Cadaver and I knew each other since the early 90''s but were never rin a band together until this one. We all dwell within the city limits of Fort Wayne, IN.
2. What bands did you guys listen to growing up and which ones influenced you the most?
Wretched: obviously we are influenced by The Misfits, but we all are collectively influenced by Alice Cooper, The Ramones, Sabbath, David Bowie, Kiss, Type O Negative, and Danzig
3. What would you like the listener to gain or get out of listening to a Grave Robber Cd?
Wretched: As Christians, we want them to ultimately know Jesus. Initially, we hope the listener is entertained and likes what they hear. We want people to ask questions and we hope that we spark something in the hearts of our fans to want to truly seek The Reanimator!
4. Let everyone know about your latest project. How smoothly did the writing and recording process go with this release? Any tour plans in the near future?
Wretched: The songs we written and performed over the course of two years and expertly recorded by Tim Bushong at his home studio in Syracuse, IN in one day! We signed with Retroactive records in October of 2007 and began putting all the pieces of the puzzle together then. The artwork and mastering was a bit more time consuming, but I think the end result is gonna really be amazing! We plan on playing a bunch around the Midwest to build our fan base and see what God does from there!
5. Do any of the events going on in the world today influence your lyrics or do you mainly focus on man''s relationship with God? What inspires you?
Wretched: Yeah, this world is headed to Hell. Seriously, why focus on that other than to say that it is happening as we speak and man NEEDS this opportunity to be saved from imminent peril. We do have some apocalyptic songs that are coming soon, but really what''s important is what goes on in the hearts of man and his relationship with the one TRUE God. The false god''s are going to Hell anyway. We chose not to give them any more attention. To hell with false gods.
I know I risk sounding very negative by saying all that, but it''s just the truth. God''s got something so much better planned out for his favorite creation, that being mankind. Somehow mankind has begun to place more importance on mankind and less on The Creator. What kind of God wants to share His glory with His creation? What kind of God would give up a portion of Heaven''s throne to come to this place? what kind of God lavishes unfathomable love on sinners and saints? ONE THAT DESERVES OUR LOVE AND WORSHIP!!! So seeing people who are damned, dying, lost, hurting, and confused inspires us and drives us more than watching CNN. We honestly love people and aspire to have the hearts that Jesus has for them.
6. How would you guys describe your music? How far do you think you have progressed as a band since you first started?
Wretched: Horror punk. We really haven''t strayed from the formula too much. We can get a bit "rock" in small doses, but really it''s fast, loud, hard, and no guitar solos! haha. Maybe there will be guitar solos someday, but right now we don''t need ''em.
7. How would you describe your band and how would you describe the feeling knowing that you can help someone who''s lost through your music and message?
Wretched: Well, we really aren''t a band that plays for Christians by and large. We play for the lost in the horror punk scene and present Christ''s message of hope to this particular subculture in their own language, much the same way the apostle Paul did with the philosophers at Mars Hill in Athens. Their world views and philosophies were skewed and Paul brought them the gospel by using their own poetry and their artwork. Grave Robber does the same thing. All imagery and visuals have significance. The skull logo with mouth sewn shut symbolizes death finally being silenced by Christ. The brown and red paint on the costumes symbolizes the blood of Christ covering our "dirt" or sin. The zombie-like masks that cover our faces symbolizing our earthy flesh, or our sin nature, which is daily fading away as we push into our Savior. The songs all point to Jesus and the gospel message.
While in church one evening, the message of Romans 6:11, which instructs to "reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God yet alive in Christ" was preached just prior to communion. This concept of being "dead" to sin and symbolically eating the flesh and drinking the blood, coupled with a passion to reach a people who are largely ignored by the church, sparked a flame in the hearts of the members of Grave Robber to begin this unique ministry. Our names are basically just for fun, but do have a slight spiritual meaning. They are names that indicate us being "dead" to sin and the world''s values. For instance, my name, Wretched comes from Romans 7:24 which says: "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Really, Mathew 28 says it all. It''s our obligation as Christ followers to take His message of hope to a dying world. It''s that simple.
8. What''s the story behind the bands name?
Wretched: The name "Grave Robber" is symbolic. The band''s name references Jesus'' return as the true grave robber, when as Christ followers we will be "raised as incorruptible, and we shall be changed" and "Death is swallowed up in victory". (1 Cor. 15:52, 54)
9. This is the speak out portion of the interview. You can air your thoughts about anything you want. Let everyone know what''s on your mind about any subject you like.
Wretched: I can''t wait for Indiana Jones 4! Haha!
10. What Music have you guys been currently listening to?
Wretched: Well, I can''t speak for the others, but I''ve been listening to the master of "Be Afraid" over and over! haha! I want it to be right for the fans, Retroactive Records, and Grave Robber. I care a lot about the outcome of this record!
People who are interested in Alice Cooper Misfits Danzig should consider this download.