REVIEW: To the Grave - Liberation Front [2026]
Artist: To the Grave
Album: Liberation Front
To the Grave are nothing if not overt in their message when it comes to their sixth LP, and, in the spirit of To the Grave’s blunt lyricism and delivery, it seems only fitting not to bury the lede: the band may have, after some experimentation, found their niche. Liberation Front sees the band firmly entrenched in modern deathcore, concise and crushing in an amalgam of eviscerating riffs, lacerating blast beats and pulverizing breakdowns with less of the nu-metallic gimmick and melodic melancholy that have reared their relative heads on the releases since Global Warning. Nothing about Liberation Front is subtle, and all of To the Grave’s cylinders are roaring throughout the entirety of the record—and while To the Grave fully leaning into modern deathcore helps the band more than it harms, Liberation Front is not totally free of the pitfalls that plague many of the genre’s contemporary powerhouses.
To the Grave take the raw and relentless aggression abundant on their breakout release Global Warning and amplify it, dragging it into the modern age throughout Liberation Front. Songs like album-opener “Meat the Humans” instantly sink hooks into the listener’s ears with a frenzied combination of hither-and-to chugging from guitarists Jack Simioni and Nic Webb and rambunctious percussion from Raymond Martin. Martin oscillates between skin-rending blast beats and bouncy, groove-heavy patterns with ease—highlighted on “Torture Porn,” a track which boasts an onslaught of groove-tinted aggression—and leans into more technical drumming at several intervals throughout Liberation Front. Lead single “Eyestalk Ablations” is one such example—call-and-response blasts from Martin kick off the track as Simioni and Webb offer dense, pulverizing chugs that segue into a devastating breakdown just as quickly as they toggle into tremendous, scathing riffs. Here, the trio see tremendous assistance from bassist Matt Clarke, lending a tremendous low end to Martin’s machine-gun kick drum, tethering the more technical and riff-heavy segments from Simioni and Webb to Martin’s dense firmament. Where their dynamic is tight and efficient, it sees little actual change on a track-to-track basis, to a point where by the time the listener hits “The World is a Slaughterhouse,” the band’s tepid foray into a more melancholic and atmospheric sound feels like too little variation coming on a touch too late in the album—especially as a majority of the closer is still spent in more conventional deathcore. This isn’t a huge detractor from Liberation Front—it’s a deathcore album, one should expect to hear deathcore—but the middle part of the record does lull into monotony that makes some tracks feel skippable.
To the Grave have always boasted an impressive vocal complement—with Dane Evans taking the helm in October 2014 and clenching the reigns since with an iron fist. On Liberation Front, Evans continues dominating. Whether its the mid-range roars that soar into screeching squeals on album closer “The World is a Slaughterhouse,” those same squeals on “Calf Slicer” or the hyperspeed candor of “Eyestalk Ablations,” there is no question that Evans is impressive with respect to range, stamina and content. Liberation Front is another installment in To the Grave’s long-documented and pointed pro-vegan, anti-speciesist and pro-environmental protection message—and more than just an additional installment, may in fact be the most direct and aggressive installment yet. Evan’s vocal delivery is nothing if not empowered by the message, with every syllable coming across pointed and envenomated with near-tangible passion. Despite this, To the Grave once more stumble into another conventional pitfall defined by vocal excess. Where Evans is no doubt incredibly talented, some tracks—opening cut “Meat the Humans” and “Limb from Lamb” come to mind—boast an over-the-top utilization of a myriad techniques and styles that comes across as borderline masturbatory. While I’m not sure its enough to earn them an entry into the increasingly populated (and occasionally embarrassing) pool of bands relegated to vocal olympics, I do feel that Evans is at his most effective when relying on the basics, and moments like the wretching gurgle at the end of “Limb from Lamb” only detract from an otherwise supremely eerie and immense breakdown.
Liberation Front is a strong entry in To the Grave’s robust discography that sees the band cutting back on superfluous forays into deathcore offshoots and getting back to the roots in a contemporary, face-lifted fashion. For the most part, it is effective, and its a fun, pulverizing and strong listen. With that said, the middle stretch seems to drag a little save a few highlights and low points—not enough to make the album as a whole a miss, but enough to make the listener flirt with the “next track” button a couple times. At the end of the day, Liberation Front sees To the Grave settle into a well-suited niche and gives them ample space to grow and expand to dominate that space.
7/10
For Fans Of: Whitechapel, Crown Magnetar, Face Yourself, A Night in Texas
By: Connor Welsh