Avernus – Grievances (M-Theory Audio)

 

Avernus returns after many years of silence, but this is a very triumphant come back!  Just one look at the album cover, and it just captures you before a single note of music is played.  The cover is a painting by August Friedrich Schenk, and it’s titled “Anguish.”  It’s a breathtaking piece of art that forces you to reflect, and so is the music inside.

“Grievances” is a record reflecting life, it is gentle, harmonious, but above all brutal.  As you listen to it, you feel the experience of joy, disappointment, betrayal, and the passage of time.  The time it took for these songs to arrive in the shape they are in, was very beneficial for the band and the music.  While the wait was long, the results are outstanding.  What were once influences for Avernus are now their peers.  What Avernus does is quite unique on the local and national level. 

The ten tracks on “Grievances” guide the listener from mood to mood, and spell out variety of truths learned from life.  In a metaphorical sense, the lyrics deal with dark moods, and realities of life seen through stagnation and nothingness.  At one point the band proclaims that,” Nothing exists anymore, your faith has gone and abandoned you.”  And regardless where you are at in your spiritual life, such moments of doubt are often dictated by life itself.  The songs are very clever, and they reach quite deep beneath the surface.

Avernus delivers great performance on this album.  The players are top notch, they know the material inside out, and they make sure that every note is felt.  Rick McCoy’s growls fill the music with desperation and pain; he’s never sounded better than he does now.  Erik Kikke and James Genenz make their guitars sound like the tools of the archaic food-plant grinders.  Drummer, Rick Yifrach observes the balance before striking it down with his thunderous approach.  Genenz handled bass on the album. 

“Grievances” is a breakthrough album for Avernus!  The band delivered a great record that should be acknowledged and celebrated worldwide.  Their distinctive sound and skilled songwriting aligned in a perfect unison.  This is the time and this is the place for Avernus to fulfill their promise.

Mark Kadzielawa