| Graves At Sea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Portland, Oregon, USA |
| Genres | Sludge Metal, Doom Metal |
| Years active | 2002 - 2008, 2012 - Present |
| Labels | Southern Lord Records, 20 Buck Spin, Life Is Abuse, Eolian Empire, Seventh Rule, Relapse |
| Associated acts | Sourvein, Noothgrush, Blood of the Sun, Subarachnoid Space, Carol Ann, Nostra Cornu, The Walk of Shames, Atriarch, Uzala, Laudanum, Preta, Sod Hauler, Altar of Earth, Sorxe, Rocket To Russia, Suiciety, The Roller, Solomon, Sloobdunearth, Kabuki, Sub Oslo, al-Qaeda, Amber Asylum, Descending Sorrow, I Will Kill You Fucker, PHT, Deathgrave, Leather Glove, Carrion, Geni-Sore, Shrine of The Serpent, Litter Bearer, Bird Costumes, Ephemeros, Anon Remora, Cryptic Edifice, Lamar, The Malnourished Nothings |
| Website | Graves At Sea Facebook |
Graves at Sea are a sludge/doom band founded in 2002 by Nick Phit, Nathan Misterek, Roger Williams and Steve Klatz. Currently based out of Portland, Oregon this quartet has also had ties to the heavy scenes in Phoenix, Arizona and Oakland, California. In the band's original run they would release a demo, a single and a split release before disbanding in 2008. Since re-forming in 2012 Graves At Sea have begun more frequent touring and have since released their debut album in 2016.
History[]
Original Run (2002 - 2008)[]
Graves At Sea would be founded in 2002 in Phoenix, Arizona, with the band's first release being the self-released demo Documents of Grief the next year. Touring heavily in support to build their name the band would attain attention of Greg Anderson and Southern Lord Records. The label would release a single in Cirrhosis b/w Atavist Arise as part of their Seven Inches of Doom series on 15 April 2004. The band also played regularly including touring and at festivals such as Emissions from the Monolith.[1]
In 2005 Graves At Sea would follow up with a split with the Oakland, California death/doom band Asunder via Life Is Abuse. In 2007 Misterek would re-location to Oakland, California while Phit would move to Portland, Oregon. This would lead to the band performing two final shows in 2008 alongside Chiyo Nukaga (Noothgrush) and Miguel Veliz (Sourvein, The Roller.).[2][3]
Return and The Curse That Is (2012 - Present)[]
In 2012 Graves At Sea would reunite. Along with founding members Nick Phit and Nathan Misterek, Chiyo Nukaga and Greg Wilkinson would fill in as the new rhythm section. By the end of the year when touring would be announce both would step down, with several fill-ins before settling on Jeff McGarrity and Bryan Sours.
Along with a tour of the West Coast United States, Graves At Sea would tour Europe for the first time in 2013 surrounding an appearance at Heavy Days in Doomtown.[4] The next year, following a West Coast tour with Eyehategod, would see the first new releases from Graves At Sea in roughly a decade with an EP entitled This Place Is Poison and a Split CD with Sourvein. The band would also tour Europe with Sourvein that Spring which would include appearances at Roadburn Festival, Desertfest London, Doom Over Leipzig and Heavy Days in Doomtown. Following the tour the band would also make an appearance at Maryland Deathfest.[5]
On 16 January 2015 Graves At Sea would sign with Relapse Records, intending to record their debut album that summer.[6] This debut album would be tracked at Audible Alchemy in Portland, OR and mixed at Earhammer Studios in Oakland, CA, engineered by Greg Wilkinson (Atriach, Lycus, etc) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Obituary, Sleep, Yob, etc). Lastly the album would feature artwork by Orion Landau. On 8 October 2015 it would be announced that the album was finished and set for an early 2016 release.[7]
The Curse That Is would see release via Relapse Records on 1 April 2016, spanning seventy-six minutes. The Curse That Is would attain positive reception from a wide range of critics such as Decibel Magazine,[8] Pop Matters,[9] No Clean Singing,[10] Metal Injection[11] and Treble Zine to name a few.[12] Graves At Sea would tour North America in 2016 and 2017 in support of their debut album, making marquee appearances at Northwest Terror Fest and 71Grind Fest.
Graves At Sea would record a follow-up through 2018 and 2019, announcing their second album History of Sickness would be released on Record Store Day initially in April and then moved to June due to The CO-VID19 Pandemic.[13]
Discography[]
- Documents of Grief (Demo) (2003, Self-Released)
- Cirrhosis b/w Atavist Arise (7" Single) (2004, Southern Lord Records)
- Graves at Sea / Asunder (Split with Asunder) (2005, Life is Abuse)
- This Place Is Poison (EP) (2014, Eolian Empire)
- Graves at Sea / Sourvein (Split with Sourvein) (2014, Seventh Rule)
- The Curse That Is (Studio Album) (2016, Relapse Records)
- History of Sickness (Studio Album) (2020, Relapse Records)
Members[]
Current Members[]
- Nick Phit - Guitar (2002 - 2008, 2012 - Present)
- Nathan Misterek - Vocals (2002 - 2008, 2012 - Present)
- Jeff McGarrity - Bass (2013 - Present)
- Bryan Sours - Drums (2013 - Present)
Past Members[]
- Roger Williams - Bass (2002 - 2007)
- Steve Klatz - Drums (2002 - 2007) (Died 2011)
- Miguel Veliz - Bass (2008)
- Chiyo Nukaga - Drums (2008, 2012)
- Greg Wilkinson - Bass (2012)
- Lola Henderson - Bass (2013)
- Chuck Watkins - Drums (2013)
- Tommy Cavitzel - Drums (Unknown Time Period)
List of Known Tours[]
NOTE: This only details tours of the band's second run.
- 2013 North American Tour (With Aldebaran) (2013)[14]
- 2013 European Tour (With Meth Drinker) (2013)[15]
- 2014 North American Mini-Tour (With Eyehategod) (2014)[16]
- European Invasion 2014 (With Sourvein) (2014)[17]
- 2015 West Coast Tour (2015)[18]
- 2016 North American Tour (With Order of The Owl) (2016)[19]
- The Cold Dead Hands Tour (2017)[20]
External Links[]
- Graves At Sea Bandcamp
- Graves At Sea Instagram
- / Graves At Sea on Discogs
- Graves At Sea's Bio via Relapse Records
- 2016 Vice Article