Welcome my fellow black metalheads, Sean here at the Black Metal Archives, and goddamn, I’m still choking on the ashes of Common Grave’s Dust of My Existence—blasted it today, and it’s like I got buried alive in a pit of despair and fury. I dug this Italian monster out of a dusty playlist, and it slammed me like a tombstone to the face—bleak, brutal, and fucking heavy. Dropped December 9, 2015, via Sliptrick Records by M. (vocals), F. (guitars), A. (guitars), S. (bass), and D. (drums), this eight-track grave’s got me clawing through the dirt—let’s tear this doomed motherfucker apart!
Common Grave rose from Verona, Italy, in 2005, a five-man death machine blending black metal’s frost with death’s crushing weight. They unleashed Dust of My Existence in 2015, a slab of sonic decay that’s been rotting in the underground ever since.
“No Dawn” crashes in like a shovel breaking earth, guitars grinding with dissonant fury that’s got my guts twisting. M.’s vocals growl like a corpse clawing free—deep and venomous—while F. and A.’s riffs churn this thick, blackened sludge. D.’s drums pound like a collapsing crypt, and S.’s bass rumbles low, dragging me into this sunless hell—I’m hooked, fists clenched, lost in the muck.
“Bleeding Dry” keeps the rot flowing, and fuck me, it’s got me snarling like a rabid dog. The guitars lash out with this jagged, death-soaked storm—slow and suffocating—while M.’s voice roars through, raw and relentless. The rhythm section slams with crushing might, and I’m stomping ‘til the floor cracks—bleeding never felt so goddamn good.
“Behind the Eyes” sinks into the gloom, a beast that wraps around my throat like a noose. The guitars weave this slow, mournful dirge, pulsing with blackened despair, while M.’s snarls growl with hollow rage. It’s a suffocating crawl that’s got me nodding, drowned in its heavy fucking weight—pure black/death mastery.
“Dust of My Existence” is where I fucking lose it—the title track’s a monolith that buries me alive. The guitars erupt with this grinding, apocalyptic fire—riffs that crush like falling stone—while the vocals howl and rumble, dripping with doomed fury. It’s a standout that’s got me growling into the shadows, fucking entombed by its power.
Common Grave’s sound on Dust of My Existence is a goddamn burial—F. and A.’s guitars are a torrent of bleak riffs and deathly grooves, while S.’s bass is the deep, grinding pulse that keeps me raging. D.’s drums are a fucking avalanche, slamming with brutal force, and M.’s vocals are the raw, decayed heart—wild, heavy, and perfect. In the black metal genre, these fuckers stalk the borderlands—Dark Funeral’s ferocity, Behemoth’s deathly heft—but with a sludgy, mournful edge that’s pure Incantation or Grave, unpolished and crushing. This album’s a fucking descent, a blast of dusty doom that’s got me hooked—crank it loud, let it rip, and join me in this wretched goddamn grave.
You beautiful bastards reading this, tell me in the comments how this album crushed your bones—I wanna hear your grim fucking tales! You can blast the full album on Bandcamp, so get your ass over there and dive into the dust!
Stay grim, you filthy bastards, and keep the black flame burning!
