Today emerging melodic death metallers Griever are set to leave their mark with a new EP titled ‘Soul Searcher’. With comparisons to Malefice, In Flames, and Darkest Hour, tracks such as ‘A Pure Heart’ and ‘Virulence’ combine stiff, frantic riffs with a mix of sweet harmonies and devasting breakdowns.
To talk us through the EP track-by-track, we spoke to lead vocalist David Seymour and clean vocalist Luke Davis.
1. Soul Searcher
‘Soul Searcher’ definitely sets the tone for the EP and sums the record up as a whole quite nicely; super heavy, highly melodic and unrelenting. It is the fastest song we’ve ever written and takes heavy influence from the Gothenburg sound. Lyrically the song describes an inner turmoil and the sacrifices one must make for the one’s they love.
2. Malevolent
This song is the oldest on the record. We had most of the guitar parts written as far back as 2014 and we played it live for almost a year before recording it. ‘Malevolent’ has a wicked old school metalcore vibe about it and features some of the gnarliest riffing on the EP.
3. Virulence
‘Virulence’ is a personal favourite amongst us within the band and we’ve opened with it live for the last eight months or so. This song really allows Luke’s vocals to shine and we can guarantee the chorus will be stuck in your head as soon as you hear it. It’s got some super chunky riffs and arguably Luke’s finest guitar solo so far. To be virulent is to be bitterly hostile so that gives you a good idea just how aggressive the lyrics are towards the virulent person in question…
4. She Is Death
’S.I.D’ is without a doubt the heaviest on the record and delves into the darker side of our musical influences. This song really showcases David’s diverse vocal range and his lyrics describe an Edgar Allan Poe-esque story about a dark & mysterious seductress. Whilst it is not the most technical of Griever songs, it packs a punch with some huge breakdowns and evil, down tempo verses.
5. Liberate
‘Liberate’ is another super heavy song but with a really melodic feel to it. This is definitely Lewis’ finest performance to date on the drums and his personal style really makes Liberate a circle pit inducing monster. Liberate is about the power & love of music and how it is such a huge positive influence on some many people’s lives, including our own. We were lucky to have our friend and producer Mike from Glamour of the Kill lay down an incredible guitar solo on the track which is guaranteed to melt plenty of faces.
6. A Pure Heart
‘A.P.H’ closes the record perfectly with the catchiest chorus of the six songs but still delivers plenty of huge riffs to sink your teeth into. It became apparent from playing the song live on tour last year that people really relate to the emotion in the vocal delivery and the lyrics are some of the most personal that David has written thus far. A bruising gut punch right in the feels.
‘Soul Searcher’ EP by Griever is released on May 27th.