| Dismal (CD) | 1992 | Common Cause |
In the tradition of bands like Winter and Dusk we get some of the most uncompromising and slow doom there is. In fact those bands almost sound like go-lucky happy music compared to Grief, mainly due to the sludge elements. These US Doomsters create some of the harshest sludge doom around. Both musically and lyrically the music is plain rude.
While sometimes addressing environmental issues ('Rhinoceros') or the horrors of World War II ('Fleshpress') most lyrics are very basic and brutal about a desire for death, depression, and hatred for oneself and the rest of mankind. Lyrics like "In my sleep, unsuspecting. Put a gun to my head. I hate my Pathetic Life" from the track ‘Shoot me... (I'm already dead)’ leave little to the imagination. Only on one of the last tracks, ‘Fleshpress’, does Grief show they are actually familiar with the concept of melody.
This not for those who like romantic doom-metal, nor for people who enjoy more groovy doom, this album is one big chunk of misery and will mainly appeal to the fans of "slowed down death-metal" like Winter and Dusk or sludge doom like Eyehategod and Crowbar. Brilliant stuff!
1. Rhionceros
2. Isolation
3. Coma
4. Shoot Me...
5. Fucked Upstairs
6. Depression
7. Virus
8. Fleshpress
9. The Drone
Approx. 43 minutes
| Grief / 13 Split (7") | 1993/
1999/ 2005 |
Grievance, Gametwo/Riotous Assembly/Menace To Sobriety, Parasitic |
This early 13 release is far more thrash influenced than their later ones. This doesn't in any way mean that this is not a sludge/doom release. Just expect more thrash riffing than usual. Other than that you can still expect to hear Alicia Morgan sodomizing her own throat until she bleeds, making sure that the vocals of Eric Harrison, the Grief vocalist, grows pale in comparison. No one spits venom like these girls do.
After reading my praises to 13 you must be thinking that I didn't enjoy Grief's half of the split. On the contrary this is one of the best Grief tracks ever. Slow, sick, raw, tortured and unforgiving in the way that one would expect from them. In fact I think it's a surprise that all the bandmembers are still alive today as self-hate isn't exactly an element they have too little of.
This is the only 13 release that I would expect anyone to find nowadays. It's definately the least rare of them all, and because of the recent re-release, it's actually not hard to get hold of. If you want one of the older releases then you might have to look harder, though. For those who just want the Grief song; it was re-released on 'Turbulent Times', a compilation of their rare tracks. Sadly it doesn't seem that there will ever be a compilation that will make 13s tracks generally available, but we can always hope.
Grief:
1. Falling Apart
13:
2. Wither
3. Plague
Approx. 15 minutes
| Come to Grief (CD) | 1994 | Century Media |
Grief have long been compared to such "sludge" greats as Crowbar and Eyehategod. The truth is, they are like no others. They sound only like themselves, and the disgust they emit with every passing, languid note, has yet to be replicated by any other band. Think of all the pain and hatred you have ever experienced in your life, and then multiply that by 100. You will be near the emotional state of this band.
Musically, Grief are a very "harsh" sounding doom band. The production on this release is certainly worthy of the music, but don't expect the slick nature of more romantic doom metal bands. Grief are dirty, they really are in the mud, and the sound takes you down there with them, into their world of worms. There are no stand out tracks, the album flows from one song to the next, a seemingly endless stream of suffering, and abject hatred for all of humanity.
Grief is certainly not for everyone, in fact they are probably for very few, but if you enjoy the harsher side of doom, then pick up 'Come to Grief'. You too will then know the pain of these tortured souls - some of it at least.
1. Earthworm
2. Hate Grows Stronger
3. World of Hurt
4. I Hate You
5. Ruined
6. Fed Up
7. Stricken
8. Come to Grief
Approx. 54 minutes
| Corrupted / Grief Split (7") | 1995 | H.G. Fact |
Grief do quite a good job on their side as well. The music is even louder than Corrputed's side. The vocals are brighter and more oppressive. Not to mention that just like the band they share this 7" with, their track is incredibly filthy. That they truly despise themselves doesn't really come as a surprise when you hear this.
I must admit that it's not often that one is lucky enough to find two of the biggest names in sludge/doom doing a split together. Additionally, both tracks are very well done. This one ought to fit the liking of most sludge fans.
Corrupted:
1. Mi Pueblo
Grief:
2. My Dilemma
Approx. 13 minutes
| ...and man will become the hunted (CD) | 1998 | Pessimiser Records/Theologian |
Grief has always been extreme and stands on a lonely height when it comes to the filth, pain and misery in their music. While they have "calmed down" a bit since their debut 'Dismal', this album is anything but a cute little puppy. No sir, this is still one hell of an angry, neglected, vicious and mistreated rotweiler barking out in anger. The music is painfully slow and twisted while Jeff Hayward screams out his frustrations.
But okay the music has become a little more accessible throughout the years; it can now actually really be called music and not just "pain and torture pressed on a silver disk". This mainly due to the introduction of more of a sabbathish groove (if that would be an appropriate name for such a slow pace) and melody. But as said before, don't let that fool you into thinking they "mellowed out". By their gradual evolution they managed to create an album just as painful for the soul and tortured as on their debut, but a little easier on the eardrums. And that is also where their "accessible" sound ends.
What a shame that they were eventually crushed by the only thing more twisted and disturbed then their own music: the music industry and life itself. Luckily most of the Grief members have already started a new band. Lets hope it will be as brilliant as this album. For now however get this album if you don't own it yet because trust me, the pain will last! A must for all the sludge fans and fans of "slowed down death-metal" like Winter.
1. Predator
2. I won't Come Back
3. If the World Was Flat
4. Ostrich
5. Hurricane Jello
6. Down In the Dumps Again
7. No Escape
8. When Rotten Ideas Break Free
Approx. 49 minutes
| Torso (CD) | 1998 | Pessimiser Records/Theologian |
Grief have assumed a more Sabbatherian template with 'Torso', which in conjunction with their natural taste for oblivion have wrought quite the atmosphere indeed. The pained textures that pervade this album can match the netherworldly intensity of most Funeral Doom releases sentiment by wretched sentiment.
'Torso' begins with 'I Hate Lucy', an instrumental whose very title evokes the band's dissatisfaction with wholesale American pop-culture, and perhaps even the world as one large unforgiving herd. Griefexplores these themes further in the next track, 'Polluted': "The earth is fucked, everyone's corrupt, the system and the government suck". Such broad statements serve up the band's general ideologies quite well. The album's remaining five tracks run the lyrical gauntlet of the above themes, as well as outright depression and even drug addiction.
'Torso's apparent message of despair, distrust, and self-hatred is not necessarily for everyone, though fans of more extreme Doom will be hard-pressed to find an album as deserving a place within their discerning collections as 'Torso'.
1. I Hate Lucy
2. Polluted
3. Amorphous
4. Life Can Be...
5. To Serve & Neglect
6. Beyond Waste
7. Tar