Italian extreme metal act Hierophant’s new album “Mass Grave” is meant to deliver a dark and violent mixture of grindcore and death metal with a dystopian vision.

“Hymn Of Perdition” opens with a bleak atmosphere and a sense of impending doom followed by visceral fast guitar riffing, blasting drums and desperate growls that add loads of chaotic anger.

The title track has a gloomy heavy doom soul with guitar riffs that actually convey a subtle melody and a slower rhythm but certainly brutal heavy elements are still dominant.

“In Decay” delivers a real accessible groove with undisputable heaviness built by a more structured range of guitar riffs and more precise drumming while a bleak hopelessness continues to dictate the mood.

“Sentenced To Death” features old school death metal elements even if the tempo is considerably slowed down in proper doom fashion and the heavy guitar riffs create a rather asphyxiating atmosphere with a dynamic moshpit friendly groove.

“Hierophant” is filled with uncompromising brutality with super fast guitar riffs while a brief breathable breakdown cannot bring relief in the perennial noisy chaos that feels too monotonous.

Hierophant seems to focus mainly on the creation of a rampage of brutal extreme songs and “Mass Grave” might not offer much more than that in terms of songwriting and creative force.