[Album Review]: GRAUFAR - ‘Via Necropolis’ LP.
Artist: Graufar (Linz, Austria)
Album: Via Necropolis
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Label: Independent Release
Release Date: 20th March, 2026
Writer: Dean Underhill
Artwork by Verena Lindlbauer - Instagram: @trendmord
Black Metal just refuses to get stale. The bladesmiths seem to be just more and more inventive and diverse as each mirthless winter passes - and even some old blades are renewed and re-sharpened. There seems to be two distinct creative pathways for Black Metal, presently. One camp is either forging a new sound influenced by not only different genres of metal but also drawn from non-metal alchemy. Then there is the camp that Graufar herald from so wonderfully. The consistent, dependable evolution of the True Kvlt sound! Old blades, reforged anew and sharpened to deathly precision.
‘Graufar’ - meaning the colour gray in Deutsch. These volk vomit their blackened discourse from Linz Austria, (ein wunderschöner Ort an der Donau, I might add).
Via Necropolis opens up with ‘Blizzard and Blaze’. A stirring single kick to the bass drum, coupled with the crash cymbal ushers in a muted staccato, subtly reinforced with notes of underlying chords. This intro in ⅞ timing runs for 4 bars and just when you think it’s about to hit, it sucks the oxygen out of you and runs for another 4 bars before you’re rhythm-asphyxiated enough that the drop hits like a cyclone, crashing through your loungeroom window! The drums and bass pound in an uptempo flurry for 4 bars along with the melody transforming to a hulking riff, punctuated with Gernot Graf’s maniacal screams and then the blast beats follow with whirring, high-octave lead.
The groove is tight and ferocious. Seemingly to save your neck from getting snapped off, the tempo slows just at the right time. Drums slow to a pounding, before some uber-slick open power chords slide across the fretboard, dragging us into a late 80’s era black n’ roll. Graf switches from screams to growls, and the track pulsates and swirls again before it slows to a melodic death metal groove, further accented by an ethereal lead melody. Slower blastbeats reform with a chaotic guitar layering before a hypnotic riff drags us along. Thomas Buchmeier’s (bass) Tibetan throat chanting in the background leads us around again to the familiar opening lead refrain. You are now en route to The City of The Dead!
Track 2, ‘Heralds of Doom’, begins with a menacing, intense, discordant lead before diving into a pounding riff overlaid with Grafen’s growls. This is nasty blackened death metal at its finest. Mozart would be turning in his grave, especially when the chorus breaks open with a quickening gallop as Grafen screams a nightmare, paired with some prickly lead. René Hinum kicks the drums into a gallop as the bass runs amok amidst arpeggio guitar-solo until you reach the slow, deliberate riff that connects the verse to bridge, bringing pure headbanging joy.
As if you needed reminding where these guys are drawing their influence from track 3 ‘Charon’ is a nod of the head to Norwegian 2nd wave, with a Taake/Immortal vibe. I particularly like the Taake-inspired banjo fills. I gather this is a guitar effect, rather than straight up banjo-playing.
The title track ‘Via Necropolis’ is a chilling Death-Doom lullaby about the morbid equalisation of king and pauper in the city of the dead. It’s a slow, heavy macabre lumber carried by the pounding down beat of Hinum's drumming, which transitions into a military march through the verse. This is until up-tempo blastbeats and tremolo guitar grasp at you poignantly, like icy fingers through the veil, as Graf, Herber (guitar) and Buchmeier chant the chilling chorus in anthemic unison. ‘Via Necropolis… enjoy the stay, ‘cause you’ll never leave. Welcome to… the realm of the dead. Where the past is forgotten, and the future is shed’. This track has the feel of something akin to Marduk’s offerings on Memento Mori. As you listen to this album you really get the sense that Graufar is standing on the shoulders of giants with each unique track. I thoroughly recommend checking out the live video montage of Via Necropolis on streaming platforms to get a full sense of the black metal ascetic that this band is absolutely owning.
See below for link to the LP title track music video, via Graufar’s Youtube Channel:
Dependably, the band hurls us back into frenetically paced guitar and drums with the opening of ‘Buried in Flames’. The drumming reaches a galloping frenzy as the guitars scream a succession of open power chords in high gain. The chorus is punctuated with Gernot’s screaming ‘Buried, buried, buried’ followed by the growl of ‘in flames’ from Herber and Buchmeier. The upbeat, driving pop of the drums accompanied by an ascending and descending chord progression, gives way to a slow death metal bridge following the chorus. Guitars chug palm-muted chords while heavy bass notes run in the background as Gernot snarls deep growls over the top. The pace quickens again until it transitions back into the chaotically fast verse, into one more final burst of the damning chorus: ‘Buried, buried, buried …in flames!’.
Are you ‘On Your Knees' in recognition of the crushing blackened death manifest on this album? The penultimate track doesn’t let up in ferocity. This gut-punching track starts with a gatling-gun drum and guitar refrain that re-emerges in the chorus, before a tsunami of fast menacing riffing explodes into the verse. Blastbeats come heavy and slam you into the chorus, accompanied by screeching tremolo guitar, thrash-style riffing and bouncing bass notes. A descending octave of power chords literally drag you into this heavy mix. The chorus is slower and deliberate in its structure. Power chords rip through the mix as Gernot screams over the top of Herber and Bucmeier’s aggressive, menacing growls; ‘On your knees, denying your guilt, more blood is spilt!’ .The outro slows to a heavy layering of riffage and mid-tempo blastbeats, transitioned by a discomforting lead melody which folds in and out to conclude the track.
The final track is a fitting closer, featuring a slow and melodic semi-clean guitar melody intro. This is accented with fills from the drums and cymbals as soaring, distorted lead guitar melody sweeps over the top. Sung in German, it builds into some sublime atmospheric guitar playing reminiscent of bands such as Imperium Dekadenz and Ellende. The bridge is an emotionally raw scream, as guitars screech in unison with Gernot’s tortured vocals. The chorus erupts with blastbeats and descending chords. The track quickens and erupts towards the conclusion, and the lead carries a signature reminiscent of Mayhem. Gernot finishes with some great soloing, and the black metal riffing completes the picture. Not my favourite track, but definitely a grower.
I thoroughly recommend this album. It is well-produced in the sense that it enlightens you to what the band would sound like in a live setting. Check out the cover art too. It is dark, fantastical and evocative.
Via Necropolis: 8 out of 10 undead strudels.
Credit: @sunnyshotmedown, via Graufar social media (see below for artist links)
Link to Via Necropolis Full-Album Stream, via Graufar’s Youtube Channel:
Graufar is:
Gernot G. -- Lead-Vocals and Guitar
Mike H. -- Growls and Guitar
Thomas B. -- Backing-Vocals and Bass
René H. -- Drums