Unsigned & On The Rise: Gravehuffer

Band: Gravehuffer
Genre(s): Crust Punk/Thrash Metal/Sludge Metal
Location: Joplin, Missouri

Man, do I have a band to show you guys!!! I have been promoting this band since they were known as “KROM” before they changed it to “Gravehuffer”. These guys rip it hard and I have had them on almost every comp I have released. I always look forward to new music from them and have been jamming their latest album (Blasphemusic) since I ordered it [album artwork done by Karl of Dahmer Art]. This is one of those bands that if you are not already banging your head to them, they BETTER be on your radar.

History of the Band:

Gravehuffer started off as the name KROM back in August of 2008. They are a mixture of crust punk, thrash metal and sludge metal. 3 of the members; Mike, Larry and Ritchie, originally started off in a crust punk band called Initial Detonation. There were some other bands formed in between, but the world really didn’t start to revolve until KROM was formed. They decided to take their crust punk sound and make more of a metal style. They also added a second guitarist, Seth. KROM released a full length titled “Chaotic Evil” (which was such a crushing album in my opinion). They later changed their name to Gravehuffer after being confused with another band of the same name. After the name change, they ended up putting together a full length called “Blasphemusic” and also got stickers and shirts made up to go along with its release. They recently were featured on a 12” vinyl comp “Horrific Unholy Noise” which features brutal grindcore/death metal bands (I will have a link added towards the bottom). Gravehuffer is currently gearing up to record a brand new 4 track EP that will be released as a 7”. Make sure not to poop your pants anytime soon. METAL!!! ~ Ritchie

So now that you are uncomfortably introduced with this band, I highly suggest you check them out and give these guys some love, or they WILL kill you; but seriously, like the shit out of them. Don’t stop now; I have an extra special surprise for you all coming up in this article that you will not want to miss.

The Interview:

I recently sent Ritchie some questions about the band so people could dish out all of their secrets and to better explain the chaos that Gravehuffer brings to the table. Here is what he had to say:

How did the name “Gravehuffer” come about?

Well, we initially were called KROM, who is Conan’s god in Conan the Barbarian. We had that name for a couple of years and eventually we started getting confused with some other Krom’s or Crom’s out there. We talked about changing the name and then the Joplin Tornado came and put the whole operation on hold for about 8 or 9 months. So after that, Gravehuffer was born! Hahahaha! Sorry, couldn’t help that one! Anyway, a friend of our named Dozer was going to use the Gravehuffer name for a rockabilly band of his but decided against it. So we asked him if we could use if because we ‘dug’ it. Har Har! I’m hitting them out of the park here, Trevor!

After releasing the album “Blasphemusic”, how has the response been from your fans?

People seem to like if pretty well. We really wanted to release something with more fresh material on it but, like I said in the previous question, that tornado put the brakes on everything for a bit. We’ve been getting great reviews for it so; I think it’s going over fairly well. It was originally going to be an EP called “Krom’s Last Stand” but we decided to go ahead and put the KROM debut, “Chaotic Evil” on it as well, since we did the name change. That way all our material would be under one moniker.

How is the music scene in Joplin, Missouri? Any bands you want to give a shout out to?

The scene here is ok. It used to really be a healthy scene in the 90’s. We had more all ages places to play back then. Now it’s mainly bars and 1 or 2 all ages places. It seems to be getting better than it was 4 or 5 years ago. There’s a few bands that have been around for a while that we like, Brutally Frank are a rockabilly band that just kick ass live and The Itch are another great punk rock band that throw down live. There’s a great metal band called The Coventry Sacrifice that kill live. They’ve opened for Carcass, Death Angel, etc. Great dudes.

If you guys could play your own tour, who would you bring on the road with you?

The Coventry, Sacrifice and The Itch

What do you think of the current state of the music industry?

It’s cool that anyone can do this and get a band going but it’s also very saturated and you have to have a lot of time on your hands to hopefully check out some of them and give them a proper chance. I think it’s great though!

What does the future look like for Gravehuffer? Anything people should be anticipating?

Yes! We just appeared on a death/grind comp over the last couple of weeks that was released on 12-inch colored vinyl. It’s called “Horrific Unholy Noise” and it’s hand numbered at 300 copies. There’s some great, brutal stuff on it. We put our Evel Knievel song, “XR-750” on it. We’re really stoked about that, as it’s Gravehuffer’s first time on vinyl! You can check it out and order from this link: http://gravehuffer.bigcartel.com/product/horrific-unholy-noise-vinyl-comp. We’re also in talks to put out a 7-inch this summer so keep an eye out for that. You’ll be one of the first people to know. Thank you so much for this and everything that you do for us little guys and hope to talk to you again very soon!

So, there you all go! If you are looking for death, destruction, mayhem and chaos in you music, Gravehuffer is the way to go and I can guarantee you all that I will be doing further promos with these dudes so stay tuned to see more and go check them out on Facebook so you don’t miss a thing.

Buy Blasphemusic NOW

Gravehuffer – “Circle Of Blood”