Gravemind Lament Existence On Massive New Single, 'Lifelike'

Jump on this Gravy train. 

Goddamn, Gravemind just go from strength to strength with each new release that they drop on us. This was true of the transition from the violent tale of revenge in their 2016 single, 'The Death Of Teyolia' (still one of the best lyric videos I've ever fucking seen) over to their mammoth sci-fi themed EP, 2017's 'The Deathgate'. Now, the very same is true of the band progressing past that previous EP into their newest single, 'Lifelike'.

For the most part, 'Lifelike' excels at Gravemind's core focuses: carving out heavy, bouncy and techy instrumentals as well as bringing in some actual relatable emotion into the often cold world of deathcore. The song also drops the metaphors that the band love to utilise and instead aims to be upfront about its intent fully. Yet while the song's lyrics dread the unasked for creation of life and lament drifting through the world until death finally envelops you, there's nothing cheap, imitative or half-assed about this slapping new tune from the Melbourne deathcore outfit.

Gravemind vocalist Dylan Gillies-Parsons - who doubles as director for the 'Lifelike' video alongside Ed Reiss - said of their baller new track that they wanted to be as honest with their fans as possible and to also create something that is squarely Gravemind in sound, saying:

"Lifelike is about being alive, but not really being there at all. It’s about being born against your will, and the reality that some day soon, we all die. We wanted to drop the metaphors and narrative for this release, and really be honest with the listener. It was our intention to write a song that is intrinsically Gravemind, but also very unique from our previous releases. It has been the hardest song to write lyrically, and the whole creation process this time around has been exceptionally draining, but for good cause. This song is about us, all of us, because no one can escape from this."

‘Lifelike’ was produced by Alpha Wolf’s Scottie Simpson and Gravemind themselves, and was then recorded by Simpson back in December 2017. Having been lucky enough to hear this track prior to it being fully finished and sent out into the world, it already sounded fucking huge as what was basically a demo. Now with it being finalised and given a solid mix and master job by Lance Prenc, 'Lifelike' sounds even more monstrous in its energy and scope. It really is one of the band's best cuts yet, made all the better by the tasteful use of cleans singing too - a first for the band and it works very well for the song overall. (There are even some backing melodic vocals from the band's former bassist, Josh Renjen too. See 1:25).

Other than writing some of the best deathcore around, Gravemind standout amongst the rest of their scene due to the extra effort and ideas they put into everything else that surrounds their music. In most cases, this comes down to how they do their music videos, but in this instance, it's how the group are putting 'Lifelike' out on 7" vinyl, including an extremely limited run of 10 test presses (which are available from Monday, April 9th).

What's really cool about this limited vinyl (shown above) is the fact that each test press comes with a laser-cut wooden box and a lyric page typewritten up by Gillies-Parsons. Then, in a very cool, re-use-recycle approach to this special package, the lyric page itself is actually made of plantable paper. Once wet, the page can be submerged under soil and after a period of time, and with a little bit of care and love, flowers can grow from this planted paper. So pretty much, the 10 owner's of these test presses can choose to create new life or they can choose to simply hold onto the lyric page for as long as they can - which all weaves back into the narrative of the actual song about not having a choice in being created and watching life grow, only for it wither and die.

Cheery stuff!

‘Lifelike’ hits all digital outlets this Friday, April 6th, but you can (and most certainly should) stream it below: