The anonymous Argentinian behind this instrumental project serves up a lovingly cursed cassette-worth of lo-fi dungeon rock goodness to sleep, study, relax, or thoughtfully bang your head to.

The basement dungeon master who willed this album into being might wish to take off my head for saying this, but I knew nothing of Graven D​ä​gger until this album was left on my proverbial desk by the Great and Powerful Dark Lord who runs this site, Rob. Thankfully, this album came out of nowhere and surprised me in the best way possible.

I didn’t know what to make of the “lo-fi dungeon rock” promised on the corner of the rad album art at first, however, I am a heavy metal fan. That means knights and mysterious cloaked figures are often the harbingers of a good time ahead! I am happy to report that what you’ll find within this eponymous debut is a solid collection of tunes dripping with atmosphere.

That atmosphere is made manifest by the lo-fi aesthetic present throughout the record. You can hear a consistent tape hiss (or perhaps vinyl surface noise?) in the quieter sections of the album which only adds to the coziness. “Lo-fi” does not mean that the production isn’t up to snuff. The album sounds very rich and warm, despite me listening to MP3s on a 2.1 speaker system. The distortion is at just the right level to allow the guitars a chance to shine as well as give them room to breathe. The person behind this album whom I will call “Mr. D​ä​gger,” gives himself plenty of room to play despite the album’s below-30-minute runtime.

This album was initially “advertised” (if you could call it that) as a stoner album in its initial release back in 2022. That genre tag could be used to describe it but that pigeonholes it a bit too much for my liking. This record is so much more than that. The riffs and licks contained within this album ooze from the primordial stew that all heavy rock draws from. There is a potent mix of elements from early garage rock, heady prog, ancient doom, and gnarly blues shredding from the earliest days of metal’s protozoan age.

Wrapping Up:

Graven D​ä​gger brings something very special to the table with this self-titled, debut album that’s now getting a chance at resurgence as well as a nice vinyl release thanks to the fine folks at Helter Skelter Productions and Regain Records. The instrumentation on display here is hard-rocking but equally soothing and satisfying as well. This is the proto-metal equivalent of “lofi hip hop radio 📚 – beats to relax/study to” that I did not know I wanted until now. Graven D​ä​gger has burst onto the scene with something that’s simultaneously fun, subversive, and unique. If you are into bands like Freeways, Blue Öyster Cult, or just feel like hearing something new, I cannot give this anything less than a very high recommendation.

THENWOTHM SCORE: 9/10

Check the digital album and order the vinyl on Bandcamp