First impressions are evidently not GREVIA's strong suit. Opening this, their debut ep, with a comically predictable collage of news audio snippets covering a murder, images of 14 year old kids in ASKING ALEXANDRIA t-shirts began to gather in my mind. Uninterested, I sat back into my chair, and let my mind wander for a brief moment. All of a sudden I am forced to sit up straight, as the opening track "Marked Bodies," breaks into life. Furious drums pound behind technical riffing that somehow feels like a perfect mixture between ARCHSPIRE and NAPALM DEATH. Taken entirely by surprise, this short EP felt like a rush of adrenaline from start to finish, creating an enthralling debut, that, whilst not perfect, feels entirely fresh and engaging.

The weak first impressions set by GREVIA are a running theme throughout the short EP. "091," "Even Open Hole," and "Nu Clear" all open with disconnected intros that simply do not reflect the sheer quality in the remainder of their run time. "No Escape" also opens with a predictable and juxtaposed intro, before manic and technically minded riffing charges in, with uses of Pinch Harmonics that actually fit, rather than having been forced in by a guitarist worshiping DIMEBAG DARRELL. These frantic, ever-evolving riffs somehow manage to balance perfect function with an exquisite form most would be jealous of. This sheer excellence only makes the superfluous nature of all of these intros feel even weaker though. However, this is an incredibly easy fix, and the songwriting on display here has to be praised regardless.

The only other real criticism I can pin upon GREVIA are the vocals. Whilst they do their job, they do it without any thrills. These are the type of vocals your Mum teased you about sounding like the Cookie Monster. PARIDE MERCURIO is clearly a talented vocalist, his voice just does not reflect the unique nature of everything else the band are doing with their sound. Unfortunately, with riffs this good, the perfunctory looks poor.

At only 13 minutes in length, GREVIA have not given much to critique here, but what they have written has certainly left a mark upon me. With the obvious editing to those song intros, GREVIA really could shape up to be something special. Potential like this doesn't come around that often, and I look forward to seeing them use it well.