Inspired by a Razor song for their moniker, Austria’s Death Racer live for a sound that is speedy, raw, and as primal as it can get. Releasing their debut demo Qualifying in 2020, the quartet gained the attention of German label Dying Victims Productions to appear on a split compilation release with Savagery, Hell Possession, Reaver and Terok Nor in 2022, setting the stage for this debut album From Gravel to Grave. Expect a mix of blackened speed metal filtered through some early Teutonic thrash and punk angles, as these eight tracks roar to life like your favorite nitro-fueled car racing for pinnacle glory.
There’s not much that is technically pure about the riffs, bass, drums, and shrieking vocals on display. The go for broke attitude at all costs keeps the reverb on high for key verses / choruses that summon hellish ghouls throughout “Inverted Crossroads”. The rabid voice of Johnny Brise during “C.F.S.O.D.C.” (inspired by a real-life newspaper article) weaves around an interesting musical montage between normal thrash metal riffs and sequences that are a little more atmospheric or ethereal in nature, a dynamic difference maker to separate the band from the normal high energy at all cost proceedings. Supplementary narrative sequences provide additional contextual storylines to the songs – where stop/start bass/guitar action keeps “Imola 94 – From Gravel to Grave” exciting as drummer Niki Louder executes thunderous rolls beyond his normal slamming steady snare/kick duties. Punk edges prop though on “Traumatized in Traffic Jam Ejection”, where spoken word verses settle in next to some semi-doom led riffs, Bruce Pirelli riding his axe into aspects of Bathory, Violent Force, and early Carnivore. You do feel like you’ve been taken for an off-road excursion by the time the final squeals, roars, and musical explosions come crashing down on the last cut “S.M. Death Worship” – these gentlemen resolute in their love of early European/ North American heavy, speed, and thrash metal.
From Gravel to Grave won’t be mistaken as anything else but underground heavy metal that squeezes out every measure for the passion of the genre – keeping the sound lean, mean, and low fidelity as possible. Death Racer take a trip back to 1984 while putting out a release in 2024 that appeases those early appreciators of aggressive, take no prisoners heavy music.