It’s unclear what evils are creeping out of the forests and mountains of the Pacific Northwest that inspire Portland’s death metal scene but said muses sure help produce some putrefied and punishing tunes. One of the newer additions to the fetid local faction is Grave Dust. Last year’s The Pale Hand EP sports six songs of churning terror from the depths of the bleakest, foulest crypt. The riffs and drums are bludgeoning, the occasional keyboard drops are spooky, and Jozy Kinnaman's vocals sound like the screams of suffering echoing from the deepest caverns of hell. If Grave Dust isn’t enough to liquify your bones, San Jose’s Deathgrave will finish the job. The death/grindcore from their 2018 full-length, So Real, It’s Now, switches from tornados of hammers and anvils,to sludgy, crawling dirges. Deathgrave is ghastly, and they know it. by Aris Hunter Wales