Victor Griffin’s In-Graved – S/T
A pedigree unparalleled; that’s what Victor Griffin brings to the table, and not just with his own name. On the somewhat clunkily titled Victor Griffin’s In-Graved, the man behind the guitars of Pentagram groups together a smorgasbord of Doom’s ‘elite’, with a release composed of a veritable who’s who of Sabbath worshippers. For those excited about such things, I’d be remiss not to mention the list: Jeff “Oly” Olson (Trouble) on Hammond organ, drummer Pete Campbell (60 Watt Shaman, Place of Skulls), bassists Guy Pinhas (The Obsessed, Acid King, Goatsnake), Ron Holzner (Trouble, Earthen Grave, Debris Inc), Greg Turley (Pentagram), Marty Swaney (Death Row, Pentagram), and Dan Lively (Sweet Cicada), etc. You can look up the touring lineup yourselves (can’t do all the work for you). But for those whom the word ‘supergroup’ translates to ‘lame attempt’ (probably the bulk of Worm Gear’s readership, I’d wager), you need a thicker side of beef to sink your fangs into. Fear not. Victor Griffin’s In-Graved album Victor Griffin’s In-Graved (haha) slays the weak. With a stomp and swagger that comes only with actually living through the ’70s and early ’80s, Griffin has composed a slab of Doom-rock that is catchy, well-produced, well-sung, and just fucking good – yeah, I know what you’re thinking; ‘Now Jim, how does ‘that’ word help? ‘ To which I say, check out the track (and title) of ‘Late For An Early Grave’. If you can compose music and lyrics for a song like that – without irony and with style and power – you’ve done something that will not only last, but maybe, just maybe, inject life into a sometimes stultifying subgenre. On this album exist riffs that Iommi would give an SG for, vocals infected with Blues beyond the capacity of your average aging longhair (Griffin’s singing ability matches his riffwriting), and (about time) a tasteful application of good ol’ organ playing that actually compliments the guitars, bass, and drums without overwhelming them (take heed, 99% of occult rock bands and Gaahl’s almost-good God Seed). Still not convinced? First track ‘Digital Critic’ takes to task interwebs writers just like yours truly, and I couldn’t be made to care – the song cranks that hard. Folks, what stands before us could be the first real counterpart to Trouble’s 1990 self-titled album. And if you don’t like that record, then why are you still reading this anyway?
Thank you, Victor. Vinyl, please! -Jim
Svart Records
Worm Gear 
Wow, okay Jim. You have convinced me to check this out, but am very skeptical.
I was quite surprised myself with this one. It’s as if, after leaving Pentagram awhile back, Griffin is pissed as hell and has something to say, and that is: “I don’t need Liebling,” and he has said it with class.