{"id":402109,"date":"2026-04-20T18:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/402109\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T18:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:20:09","slug":"northern-graves-derelict-heart-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/402109\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Graves – Derelict Heart Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I don\u2019t know exactly what it is, but the Canadian prairies seem to just do something to its metal practitioners. Occasionally, we talk about metal in terms of its geography\u2014\u201dScandinavian black metal,\u201d \u201cEuropean power metal,\u201d and so on\u2014but I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve heard much about Canadian metal. Canada is huge, of course, but I\u2019ve yet to find a band from its rural corners that hasn\u2019t really resonated. Northern Graves, formed in 2023 by Damian Smith of Altars of Grief, continue this trend with their take on blackened doom metal. Originally a solo project, the now fully-expanded lineup, relocated to the United States, is releasing its debut, Derelict Heart, inspired \u201cby the seemingly endless Canadian prairies and the countless ghost towns that dot its landscape.\u201d How could I possibly refuse?<\/p>\n

Having started as a solo project for Smith, it should come as no surprise that there are several Altars of Grief-isms at play here, but the \u201cblackened\u201d label is serious. Alike in their prairie ways, I would suggest Derelict Heart could be the result of a union between Arctos and Altars of Grief\u2014there is a desolate, bleak darkness at the heart of the music befitting of Smith\u2019s doom metal outfit, but the presentation is impassioned and fierce. Branson Heinz and Roman Chester kill it on drums and bass, respectively, each running marathons with bite throughout Derelict Heart. Andrew Caruana joins Smith on guitars and plays aggressively without quite the speed of Heinz\u2019s drumming, give or take a tremolo here and there. Their vocals are similarly harsh and biting; the duo snarl, roar, and rasp in strange harmony. Smith also sings, and Caruana plays keys, both adding new dimensions to an already mighty sound.<\/p>\n

Derelict Heart by Northern Graves<\/a><\/p>\n

The result is metal that is more blackened than doom, and very strong for it. \u201cEndless\u201d gets off to a rocking start; Smith and Caruana play an upbeat riff, rasping their way through a strong intro. The doom elements persist through an acoustic guitar, a mournful solo, and a strong atmosphere of darkness. Northern Graves do a fantastic job of evoking the vast, empty plains of their native Saskatchewan. \u201cDerelict Heart\u201d is the best example, a grand, slow burn that starts in doom waters before treading its way to a beautiful, blackened climax. Smith and Caruana\u2019s vocals are huge, and Heinz\u2019s drumming reaches manic heights. The guitars surround you and carry you to ghost towns. During quieter moments, the singing, distant and orchestrations, are subtle, chill, and inspiring. It\u2019s a staggeringly beautiful song and best demonstrates the union of black metal, doom metal, and unique inspiration that defines Derelict Heart and Northern Graves. Even the non-metal track, \u201cKeeper of the Plains,\u201d serves an important function in providing a highly specific atmosphere. Derelict Heart thrives in atmosphere, making it feel like more than the sum of two sub-genres and more like its own unique entity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

From a production standpoint, Derelict Heart sounds amazingly clear and energized, with only two minor flaws. The first is that the drumming is curiously loud. As mentioned, Heinz is a fantastic drummer and a significant contributor to Derelict Heart\u2019s energy. He gives it power and presence. But his own presence is often too loud, especially on \u201cLanterns.\u201d \u201cLanterns\u201d is a gorgeous song, falling more on the doom metal side of the equation with slower, more mournful passages dotted with orchestral melodies, clean\/harsh vocal duos, and beautiful riffs\u2014but the blast beat drumming is so high in the mix as to be distracting. The second is the album closer, \u201cHazard,\u201d a Richard Marx cover<\/a> that, while appropriately blackened to fit Northern Graves, is not effective as a closer for Derelict Heart. Especially following the phenomenal title track, it sticks out; it has less doom, quieter atmosphere, and much more clean singing than the rest of Derelict Heart, and, while it is a fascinating cover, it feels like an odd way to close the album. Tonally, it\u2019s just a bit strange, though I can\u2019t bring myself to actually dislike it\u2014the skill and passion from Northern Graves is hard to dislike.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of ways to blacken doom metal, but Northern Graves has found an amazing sound on Derelict Heart. It\u2019s not particularly mournful or even especially bleak, but it effectively evokes the enormity of a desolate wild. It is a powerful, memorable experience that I found resonant and affecting. I already cannot wait for more.<\/p>\n

Rating: 3.5\/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb\/s mp3
Label: Meuse Music<\/a>
Websites: northerngraves.bandcamp.com<\/a> | facebook.com\/northerngraves<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: April 17th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I don\u2019t know exactly what it is, but the Canadian prairies seem to just do something to its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[4155,17047,156949,190373,178666,190374,26973,190375,11435,146,85,46,179230,409,190376,1529,1530,190377],"class_list":{"0":"post-402109","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-4155","9":"tag-3-5","10":"tag-altars-of-grief","11":"tag-american-metal-metal","12":"tag-apr26","13":"tag-arctos","14":"tag-black-metal","15":"tag-derelict-heart","16":"tag-doom-metal","17":"tag-entertainment","18":"tag-il","19":"tag-israel","20":"tag-meuse-music","21":"tag-music","22":"tag-northern-graves","23":"tag-review","24":"tag-reviews","25":"tag-richard-marx"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}