Gravplaga
“Maliferous Portents” (Forbidden Files Records, 2025)

Gravplaga unveil "Maliferous Portents", a 2025 debut steeped in Swedish Black Metal melody and aggression. Atmospheric, dynamic and deeply evocative.

Swedish lands are the birthplace of many majestic pieces of Black Metal history. There is something in the air, in the water, in the land, in the skies; that is the only way to justify it. Swedish Black Metal is slightly different from, for example, Norwegian Black Metal. We have more melody, a more delicate, I dare say, approach to the genre. All in all, we have two different – yet marvellous – perspectives of a very special musical genre.

In that sense, Gravplaga is a perfect example of how the Swedes approach extreme music: delicately and melodically. Gravplaga is the work of one Malignant Desecrator (Tomblurker and Cepheus), and “Maliferous Portents” is his first release under the moniker. 4-tracks is all it takes to understand that we have a serious case of quality in our hands, and the funny thing is, while I was describing the melodic and delicate side of his sound, he shifts, and shows his more aggressive side, and it sounds powerful as well. Good thing about it is how he “jumps” between sounds, between stages, and never loses its dynamics.

“The Languishing Grave” is a fantastic tune. The atmosphere, the riffs, the vocals. The fusion of all these elements, structures such fantastic music! Powerful and emotional. Very curious to see what the future brings in terms of next step. Let us wait and see.

Forbidden Files Records Official Bandcamp