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In the months that followed, they as a band, have recorded and released a 5-song demo/EP titled 'Dismal Times' which has received great reviews both locally and within our region. The band has had the opportunity to perform an actual concert at Millenium Park in downtown Chicago as part of a celebration dubbed 'Great Performers of Illinois'. They've managed to be featured on NBC's Today Show, mostly on a feature showcasing Barton Pine, but that in addition to a live appearance in WGN, opening for pro acts such as Megadeth, Anvil among others, has been a brilliant strategy for Earthen Grave in getting that much needed attention and opportunity to be heard by folks that -for whatever reason- may not have otherwise checked them out.

The band, like many others in our scene, has an incredible amount of talent in its ranks with members having spent years in the music industry with heavy-hitters such as Trouble and Ministry among others. It's been helpful to them also having the presence of the not only talented drummer, but media-savvy Scott Davidson. That, simply said, never hurts. So what I think has been the key point for me personally [and I will speculate in saying that] it may also perhaps be a factor for many in "checking what the fuzz is all about" with Earthen Grave, is the presence of violinist Rachel Barton Pine. While having other instruments besides guitars, drums and keys in a rock or metal band is nothing new or unusual, having a classical violinist who plays actual concerts around the world with symphonies and rubs shoulders with a much cultured segment of the performing music world is not something you stumble upon at club xyz on any given Friday night.

_I've had the opportunity to see the band perform a number of times. While I think they have performed well on each of those occasions, what's memorable is that [for me] every performance has been better than the previous and I've noticed growth on every show. I last saw them on April 29th at North Central College's Pfeiffer Hall in Naperville, IL. For those unfamiliar with this venue, it is a pretty good size performance hall with a 1000+ seat capacity. After a local opening act, Earthen Grave took to the stage shortly after 9 PM and burst into 'Death On The High Seas' followed by 'Life Carries On', in addition to the other tracks in the Dismal Times EP, their newly-released single 'Blood Drunk' and a variety of other songs including Rainbow's Stargazer and a version of Sabbath's Solitude. The band also had some guest musicians and vocalists onstage in various  songs. Trouble's guitarist Bruce Franklin joined them onstage for a version of Death March/At The End of My Daze. What I thought was really cool and was completely unexpected was after doing a version of Metallica's 'For Whom The Bell Tolls', Barton Pine was joined onstage by violinist Chuck Bontrager and they performed a sublime and out of this world duo rendition of 'One'. I personally favor any band's original tunes versus other covers they may do, but this [for me] was really cool and its execution was incredibly memorable.
One thing I found rather odd, but better illustrates my point in this article, was the crowd at this show. For a rock show, it was a very polite and subdued crowd. The place was not sold-out but there was a large crowd that would have made any band very happy. They would clap and cheer at the end of a song, but it was very much like a japanese crowd when everyone is incredibly polite and proper. It wasn't bad by any means, just different. At the last song -the encore- and urged by vocalist Mark Weiner, finally some people stood up, went up in front of the stage and rocked to 'Children Of The Grave'. Again, not bad, just odd and a bit different from what I typically see. A lot of folks I saw and a few I spoke to were not metal fans by any stretch of the imagination, but they had heard of the band on TV or wanted to see "the band with the violin". When asked if they would consider seeing them again or someone similar, most replied yes. In this tough economic times and with a $25+ ticket price for this show, a lot has to be said about Earthen Grave's ability to spark interest and get enough of the public's attention to get them from the couch to the concert hall.

So in conclusion, Earthen Grave is a band that as much as I'd like to say has been fortunate and blessed with a bit of luck, they've actually done a lot of things right and while still working towards a goal, are simply enjoying the benefits of their efforts and good decisions. The band has very good, strong material and is worth the admission price if you choose to check out their live show. They plan on releasing a full-length album in 2011 and will continue to play key shows in the area while supporting the current EP and new single.

For additional information on upcoming, shows or to pick up a copy of their material, visit them online at www.earthengrave.com