HELLISH GRAVE got their start in Osasco, Sao Paulo, Brazil during 2011. The Black/Speed Metal band has four albums to its credit to date, including the one being reviewed today, "Hell No Longer Awaits".

"Transilvanian Nights" starts out the album. It is one of the best instrumentals I've heard in years. As the atmospheric effects which begin the track fade away a single guitar leads into the main body of the track, blending beautifully with the other instruments as they join in. The result is powerful as well as melodic. It's a great way for the band to showcase their obvious skill as musicians, which is why I consider this to be one of the best selections on the entire album. "Nomine Draculae" features a fantastic guitar-heavy intro that is fast-paced as well as balanced. I really enjoyed the way the music became heavier in order to balance out the powerful vocal performance within the song. It's a truly great example of Black Metal with a Speed Metal element blended into it to give the track more impact. The song will most certainly appeal to all fans of brutal metal music. "Revenant Awakening" shows off its blistering pace immediately as well as some melodic elements which are thrown in to make the sound even better. The song proves that HELLISH GRAVE is more than capable of continuing Brazil's legacy of aggressive and well-crafted metal music. "Possessed By The Witch" is also great. It is heavily Speed Metal-influenced with a super quick pace and venom-infused vocals that will get the attention of any fan who appreciates rapidfire, heavy music. The wicked guitar riffs heard throughout are an added bonus.

I also like "Locomotive Blast" because it sounds like something made for the mosh pit scene. It begins very slow yet powerful, then it takes on a Speed Metal sound that gets your attention quite well. It's not hard to imagine a lot of people at a show having a great time while this one plays. "Hell No Longer Awaits" is fast and loud, also making it another potentially great song for the concert scene. The vocals consist of shrieks and growls which are perfectly suited for this track's heavy percussion, thunderous bass-line and extremely aggressive guitar attacks. The only problem I have with the song is its oddly out-of-place acoustic ending. Maybe it would've worked at the beginning of the song instead. As a way to finish it the sound simply did not mesh with the previous parts of the track which reduced some of its impact. My favorite song on the album is the final track "Soldiers Of Hell".  It is another track which is essentially Speed Metal in nature; it's aggressive, demanding, ridiculously fast and LOUD. The rapid pace of the music is matched perfectly by the equally fast and brutal vocal performance. A couple of outstanding guitar solos with plenty of melodic influence are the perfect finishing touch to the song. If you only listen to one song from the album then make sure it's this one.

I think "Hell No Longer Awaits" could easily become an underground classic. It has a sound that isn't heard nearly enough these days; well-performed and solid in a way that tells you the band not only knows what they are doing, but they actually care about it as well. Highly recommend this one!