From Graves of Valor was formed in December of 2005 in Florence, South Carolina. After a few lineup changes ex-Through the Eyes of the Dead members Jeff Springs, Richard Turbeville and Dayton Cantley joined up with bassist David Hasselbring and finally Damon Welch joined the band to complete the current lineup.

EXCERPT FROM LAMBGOAT REVIEW OF FAMINE

Death metal isn't a genre I usually expect memorable songwriting from. It's mostly a personal issue more than anything else, but most death metal I've come across was so excited about sounding "evil as fuck" that the songs were little more than wank-ridden burp-fests.

Famine, the debut EP from South Carolina's From Graves of Valor took me utterly by surprise. The band makes heavy use of the standard death metal trappings to get their point across: cookie-monster death grunts, wall-to-wall double bass, intricate guitar work, apocalyptic lyrics and higher register screaming. Normally this kind of stuff would have me yawning. However, it's in the execution that the band really shines. From Graves of Valor features Through the Eyes of the Dead alumni Richard Turbeville, (guitar) Dayton Cantley (Drums) and Jeff Springs (guitar) and it shows that these guys have worked together in the past. Famine manages to sound uncompromising without coming across as too one-dimensional - something that could only be pulled off by a group of veterans aware of the genre's shortcomings.

Bottom Line: Any death metal band that references Franz Kafka in a song title immediately wins some serious geek points with me. So while From Graves of Valor don't reinvent death metal, they certainly give it a needed facelift with more fluid songwriting that doesn't skimp on the aggression. The EP is technical, absolutely brutal and above all: actually memorable after I stop listening to it. I'm really curious to see if they can pull this off on a full-length.

Favorite Track: Architect
Review Date: 12/16/2007
Reviewer: Rob Parker