Style: Progressive Death Metal, Death Doom Metal (Mixed Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Novembers Doom, Draconian, My Dying Bride
Country: Canada
Release date: April 17, 2026
Formed by members of the Texan progressive death metal band Wills Dissolve and the Canadian death doom metal band Altars of Grief , Northern Graves seemed a perfect fit for this examination of fusion and identity. Both root bands represented different approaches.
Wills Dissolve delivered intense prog-death sounds on The Heavens Are Not On Fire (2018) and the majestic thirty-minute single-track album Echoes (2020). Altars of Grief , on the other hand, mined their dark ore from the depths of funereal death doom, affecting a mournful, gothic tone, in line with bands like Draconian and Novembers Doom . How do Northern Graves assimilate these varied qualities into their own unique existence? Let’s explore.
First of all, Northern Graves’ blend of atmospheric black metal and progressive death doom points their compass more directly toward Altars of Grief , although to say this is a direct continuation of that lineage would be misleading. While there are threads to be drawn between the two bands’ implementation of mournful orchestration (not to mention vocalist Damian Smith), Northern Graves find strength in forward motion. After the melancholic instrumental “A Story Told By The Wind”, the debut album Derelict Heart properly begins with “Lanterns”. Drummer Branson Heinz ( Wills Dissolve ) strikes the ground with a steady tempo as the guitars flood the unfolding tributary with frozen tremolos. The black metal influence is clear, even as the song evolves to include a hypnotic doom-y passage that builds into a tasteful arpeggiated guitar run.
Damian Smith’s hoarse growls add bestial weight to the proceedings, but his clean performances, reminiscent of Ryan Clark ( Demon Hunter ), draw more of my attention, with his reverent tones transcending the primal forces of the orchestration to deliver haunting sermons. And when the two styles overlap on top of each other as they call out “in the night, she calls to me” in the final moments of “Lanterns”, I realize I’ve added my own voice to that invocation.
However, that’s not to say the genetic markers of Wills Dissolve are absent: throughout Derelict Heart one can find that band’s penchant for elegant, shifting compositions. The songs transition from aggressive, jagged death metal and haunting atmoblack, to sober folk passages and lively, dramatic solos, all usually built on an attention-grabbing vocal line.
Whether it’s Smith’s or Andrew Curauna’s guiding riff, or the way Smith’s voice foretells a bend in the path, every twist and turn unfolds with the certainty of a rushing river, so that by the time we reach, say, the mournful piano outro on “Nocturne”, every element feels earned. The pacing, too, is excellent. despite the fact that nearly every song exceeds the six-minute mark, the forty-one minutes of Derelict Heart fly by like a breeze.
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Overall, fans of Wills Dissolve hoping for a more adventurous musical odyssey like “Echoes” may leave somewhat disappointed by the on-rail designs of Derelict Heart . There are no Floyd or Rush-inspired moments here, in the primordial forests and firelit nights from which Northern Graves’ walks take place.
A small price to pay, I say, when the end result of this musical fusion comes out as an album so incredibly and utterly thrilling. Rare are the days anymore that I find myself singing or humming lyrics from an album I’m reviewing – not because the work in question is necessarily bad, but rather because the downside of reviewing is that you can easily go numb to the trickery and magic of music. So when a record breaks through the weariness and holds my attention after hours, so to speak, that’s something worth noting.
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Derelict Heart is a sweeping blend of atmospheric black and fatal death: darkly beautiful, painfully desolate and haunted like the rural North that inspired this project. In Cronos: The New Dawn , the player is often warned and given incentive not to let the Orphans merge, but if I came across Altars of Grief devouring Wills Dissolve in a dark alley somewhere, suffice it to say that’s a merger I’d be fine letting play out.
Recommended tracks: Lanterns, Endless, Nocturne, Derelict Heart
You might also like: Altars of Grief, Wills Dissolve, Falling Leaves, Domhain, Panopticon
Final verdict: 8/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Record label: Meuse Music Records
Northern Graves are:
– Damian Smith (guitars, vocals, piano)
– Roman Chester (bass)
– Branson Heinz (drums)
– Andrew Caruana (vocals, guitars, orchestral arrangements)
With guests :
– Nick Block (vocals on “Endless”)
– Déhà (vocals on “Derelict Heart”)
– Jaakko Mäntymaa (vocals on “Hazard”)
