GRAVE ROBBER

Grave Robber - Be Afraid (Retroactive) 2008

1. "The Exorcist" (2:08)
2. "Skeletons" (1:50)
3. "Burn, Witch Burn" (2:43)
4. "Bloodbath" (1:43)
5. "Rigor Mortis" (3:54)
6. "Buried Alive" (2:15)
7. "Screams of the Voiceless" (2:53)
8. "Golgotha" (1:28)
9. "Reanimator" (2:39)
10. "Schizofiend" (2:53)
11. "Dark Angel" (1:48)
12. "I Wanna Kill You Over and Over Again" (2:36)
13. "I, Zombie" (2:43)
14. "Army of the Dead" (4:11)
BONUS TRACK
15. "Rigor Mortis" (3:56)

Grave Robber delivers simplistic, punk-based hard rock with catchy, sing-along choruses and haunting vocals. Not being a huge fan of punk, it's hard for me to make any definitive comparisons, but I am reminded of the Misfits at times, while some of the guitar work reminds me of classic Ramones. Almost all the songs are short, fast and upbeat with a sound I would describe as "bouncy". They most certainly have a pop appeal to their song writing with each song possessing a catchy hook. One thing that does show up in song after song is this melodic, "Whoah, oh, oh" gang chorus. I suppose this is part of the band's signature sound, however, I did find it a little distracting after a while since it seems to be used in at least half the songs here, if not more.

The band's vocalist possesses one of those haunting David Bowie-esque voices. At one point, during in songs like Rigor Mortis and "Buried Alive" I even heard a bit of an Alice Cooper influence.

Grave Robber's looks is pretty unique, looking not unlike the ghoulish image on the cover. Personally I find band's like this to be a lot of fun. Lordi and Slipknot have had success with this type of horror-ish look in recent years. To match the band's costumes, they have names like Wretched (Vokills, Shovel), Dr. Cadaver (Doom Tubes, Vokills), Nameless (Guitar, Vokills) and Maggot (Bass, Vokills). Frankly, it doesn't make a bit of difference how interesting the band's image is if the music isn't equally as interesting. I think that most people will find that Grave Robber deliver a sound that will draw them in, even if they aren't a big fan of punk.

What's even more interesting is that despite the ghoulish appearance and the "horror punk" label, Grave Robber's lyrics are not shallow at all. Rather, they give their listeners some thought provoking lyrics in each and every song, while at the same time not backing down from controversy. "Screams of the Voiceless" is an outspoken pro-life song. Other songs deal with inner struggles and Biblical topics. "Re-Animator" is a song about Jesus' Christ's resurrection from the dead and subsequent victory over evil.