"The Grave" is a reissue of an album from Brazil's GENOCIDIO via Nuclear War Now! Productions.  Packed with extras including live and demo tracks, anyone wanting to dig deeper into the Blackened Death Metal scene than SARCAFAGO should jump at the chance to own a piece of Metal history.  1988 was a transformational year for Metal and while this collection of rarities documents a historically valid moment, it is not the easiest of listening experiences.

The title track opens the album and mayhem ensues - literally.  "The Grave" has a rambling feel, or better put, the feel of a train running off the tracks.  To call this material raw is an understatement.  Comparing the sound to another vital release of the day, MAYHEM's "Deathcrush," the '87 EP from their Norwegian compatriots marks a considerable step up in sound quality.

"Fall of Heaven" follows along the same lines of the first track.  There are, however, new strange vocal utterances most aptly described as Tourette-like outbursts.  Certainly, one has to consider the time period, but the deeper one digs into this album, the more abysmal the feeling gained from such abject disregard for polish.  This is the definition of auditory chaos.  A sort-of-breakdown arrives toward the latter half of the song but the nagging sensation that the guitar, bass, or both are out of tune simply will not abide.

Obviously, the production has been referenced rather frequently thus far.  Like a mutated third eye appearing on one's forehead, it is hard to miss.  There have definitely been similar releases over the years rivalling the disregard for quality though that does not lessen the severity of such an experience.

I am not saying that "The Grave" lacks any inherent value.  Curiously enough, the band saved their hardest-hitting riff for the fourth track, "Bestial Vengeance".  Of the eleven songs included, that was the one moment that stands out most resoundingly.

"The Grave" exists for a very specific, niche fan.  This is the underground completionist.  As a documented historical phenomenon, the album thrives.  As a listenable experience in 2021, it languishes, gasping for air amidst the chocking fog of blatant incongruity.