With few exceptions, I like my heavy music direct, straightforward and to-the-point. With that in mind, it’s hard to argue against a powerviolence supergroup like Deny the Cross. Deny the Cross is made up of former and current members of such reputable acts like Spazz, Black Army Jacket, Agents Of Satan, Municipal Waste, and Discordance Axis.
The band’s new album, Alpha Ghoul, is an unsettling, dark and energetic concoction of various elements of death metal, punk and hardcore. This mix allows for a sound that is both consistent, and yet contains several shades of heaviness beyond the usual blast-and-destroy you’d expect from a powerviolence act (not that there’s anything wrong with said approach). To add to the band’s already impressive resume, the album art was crafted by Mark McCoy of Charles Bronson (yes, there was a band called Charles Bronson, and yes, you should get on that right away).
“Teens in the Graveyard” is a loud, powerful blast of driving aggression dealing with themes of death and alienation. Vocalist Carlos Ramirez offers some specifics as to the song’s subject matter:
“Teens in the Graveyard” was inspired by a story I read about how high the teen suicide rates amongst gay teenagers in the US. I was lucky enough to be born and raised in NYC, a place that has been more progressive about these kinds of things compared to the rest of the country, but it’s still an issue the US needs to address better.”
Check out the song below, and look out for Alpha Ghoul on July 29.
