Description

3 original songs and 2 cover songs with my doom/thrash metal band – I’m playing a five-string electric violin

Track Listing

http://media.rachelbartonpine.com/audio/15/EarthenGrave_Dismal_Times_excerpt.mp3
Dismal Times

http://media.rachelbartonpine.com/audio/15/EarthenGrave_Life_Carries_On_excerpt.mp3
Life Carries On

http://media.rachelbartonpine.com/audio/15/EarthenGrave_Burning_A_Sinner_by_Witchfinder_General_excerpt.mp3
Burning a Sinner (by Witchfinder General)

http://media.rachelbartonpine.com/audio/15/EarthenGrave_Death_on_the_High_Seas_excerpt.mp3
Death on the High Seas

http://media.rachelbartonpine.com/audio/15/EarthenGrave_Relentless_by_Pentagram_excerpt.mp3
Relentless (by Pentagram)

About

DISMAL TIMES
EARTHEN GRAVE
MARK WEINER, VOCALS
RACHEL BARTON PINE, VIOLIN
TONY SPILLMAN, GUITAR
JASON MUXLOW, GUITAR
RON HOLZNER, BASS, VOCALS
SCOTT DAVIDSON, DRUMS

Recording and Mixing Engineer: Jay Walsh
Second Engineer: Sean Jensen
Recorded June 4 and 5, 2009 at Farview Recording
Mixed at Farview Recording
www.farviewrecording.com

Rachel’s Violins:
Acoustic: “ex-Soldat” Guarneri del Gesu, Cremona, 1742; Bow: Dominique Pecatte
Electric: 5-string fretless Viper by Wood Violins; Bow: Marquise CodaBow

Music and Lyrics

DISMAL TIMES
Music and Lyrics © 2009 J.Muxlow, S.Davidson, R.Holzner, M.Weiner, R.B.Pine, A.Spillman

fire’s high pitch fork
gravel pit dark hole
see the light fade away
live for another day
cold steel in my hands
see the light fade away
moving through the rock and soil I see your face
screaming souls echo
from the sea of sinners
see the light fade away
dismal times here again
feel the freeze changing
see the light fade away
my love is lost
in these dismal times
my life is lost
in these dismal times
calling out
to my lord
will you save me again
reaching out
to my lord
can you save me again
can you save me again
wading through these dismal times…

LIFE CARRIES ON
Music and Lyrics © 2009 J.Muxlow, S.Davidson, R.Holzner, M.Weiner, R.B.Pine, A.Spillman

see his dying eyes as he falling down
world of doom in his mind as he cries out loud
licks his wounds to the bone
never more
looking up to the skies blood is cold shadows run inside
I carry on
I walk the storm
I carry on until my end
I carry on
I walk alone
I carry on until my last breath
sword of pain has the blood of the wounded souls
liars’ eyes hide the truth never to be told
desert winds blowing high in the dead of night
counts his gold and his days before he dies
I carry on
I walk the storm
I carry on until my end
I carry on
I walk alone
I carry on until my last breath…

BURNING A SINNER
Written and originally performed by Witchfinder General

DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS
Music and Lyrics © 2009 J.Muxlow, S.Davidson, R.Holzner, M.Weiner, R.B.Pine, A.Spillman

feel the cold wind blowing in
freeze my hands & skin
skies burning red
viking yell i roar
will this be my end
or just the start of the beginning
in the shores of sin wash off all my love
i must have Godspeed
oh, here it comes
steel rain coming down again
oh, here she blows
steel rain coming down again
never turn you back
don’t close your eyes
before the tide washes you away
been so long since I’ve held you
I pray that I live another day
I see the storm ahead
the shores of sin wash off all of my love
I must have godspeed
oh, here it comes
steel rain coming down again
oh, here she blows
steel rain coming down again
on the sea for so long
don’t know which way is home
everyday seems the same
wish i could make it home
see the sky turning red
hear the thunder ahead
count my days to the end
as i head into the core
see the grand mountains fall
crumble away
see the moon brighten the skies
we scream for our lives
the dragon whips his tail
we all drown again
the grand mountain falls
we crumble away
death on the high seas
destruction to my mind
the vision is burnt
the soul of the storm is gone
never to return
my fire that burned is gone
the serpent has won
the dragon whips his tail
we fall to the end
death on the high seas

RELENTLESS
Written and originally performed by Pentagram

Press

“Earthen Grave’s Dismal Times rewards increasingly on repeated listen … Rachel Barton Pine, an accomplished and respected classical violinist, makes her strings burn, soar and rip, lending the material here a very unique edge… You can just see the heads banging in your mind … and over the thrash the violin skitters, stabs and saws… trust me, you are unlikely to have ever heard anything quite like it … If the doom gods are with us, this band will stay around and continue to produce the kind of unique, powerful and thoughtful music contained on Dismal Times.”
(read the complete review here)
HellrideMusic.com

4.5 out of 5
“Pure, head-banging bliss! … This group is onto something unique and fresh. What really sets the sextet apart is the inclusion of one Rachel Barton Pine on violin and the way her parts are written into the compositions… between her riffing with the guitars, she exhibits abundant fills, as well as leads, all in places where you’d expect to hear guitar leads. No mere atmospherics or chordal reinforcement here; even when the band reaches into high speed thrash territory – see “Death on the High Seas” – the effect achieved with the additional layer is astounding, let alone the prowess with which she plays.”
(read the complete review here)
MaximumMetal.com

“Fresh sounding Metal that crosses over many styles while retaining a sense of originality … I can picture the hair flying … Rachel Barton Pine’s musicianship shines throughout… The mixture of screeching violin and chugging guitars is very unique and it works … Can’t wait till the band gives us a full length with all originals… they have all the songwriting capabilities to make one of the best albums ever.”
(read the complete review here)
Doommantia.com

“This writer got a chance to see the band live, and my head almost came unscrewed. The phrase “tighter than a gnat’s ass” comes to mind.”
Decibel Magazine

“The vocals are strong, sounding like Chris Cornell back when he had a set. And in fact, much of the music is gathered from the past one way or another, but in the best ways possible. This is clearly evident in their crown jewel, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, whose deft interplaying and extensive classical background add to the group’s unique character… EPs this promising portend crushing full lengths…”
(read the complete review here)
mindovermetal.org

“Earthen Grave’s deeply grounded sound (’bout six feet under, I’d say) fidgets like a seismograph needle between thrash, doom, stoner rock, classic metal, and psychedelia. Their lineup includes veterans of Trouble, the Living Fields, and Trifog, but what makes them more than your standard five headbangers in jeans is member six, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, a world-class classical player who debuted with the CSO at age ten). Pine is a very public metal fan of long standing, and when she lets her freak flag fly in Earthen Grave—she plays an electrified six-string monster called a Viper—it gives the band’s music a jarring and otherworldly edge.”
Chicago Reader