Graceless – Icons Of Ruin

Written by on 23-08-2025 at 11:08.

Graceless from the Netherlands has been releasing a new album every two to three years since 2017, with the quality increasing with each album. Three years ago, colleague Faasen gave the band the respectable score of 93 and praised Chants From Purgatory for the increased melody and decreased aggression. The tension leading up to Icons Of Ruin therefore was sky-high. After all, Graceless has long ceased to be a one-hit wonder, but with such a high score it is difficult to surpass yourself. And besides: will this album be more of the same or has Graceless dared to make some subtle changes again. And if so, how do they turn out?

Icons Of Ruin starts with God Shines In Absence. The song contains several good riffs and a chorus that’s easy to sing along to. The tone for the album is set right away and this song would also be a great opener of the liveset. You are immediately sucked into the world of Graceless. And it is good to be in that world: the filth and brutality of the lyrics are musically supported well. “Well” is actually an understatement because the song bursts with quality.

A few weeks ago we were introduced to the song: Sanctified Slaughter. This track starts off excruciatingly slow and manages to create an extremely sinister atmosphere. When it accelerates a bit later, it becomes clear that this biting atmosphere is there to stay. Partly thanks to the ferocity with which the vocals are barked at you. The riffs sound a bit simple at first, but who cares when they are thrown at you like sledgehammers and stick in your memory.

In Lash Me To My Painful Death Remco Kreft vocally lashes himself to his lonely death. Of course I don’t wish death on anyone (and certainly not on Kreft!) but if you have to die anyway, then this is the way to go. It is a logical continuation of what we have been presented with on Icons Of Ruin so far: slow and dragging riffs, brutal vocal lines that are easy on the ear and with an icy atmosphere.

Hardening Of The Heart is the process that occurs when death has entered the body and Graceless has succeeded in transforming this often sad event into a small masterpiece. It starts with a piece of clean guitar that is abruptly interrupted by the entire band throwing a mid-tempo riff at it that is vocally barked by Kreft again a little later. You then notice how good the production is: all instruments can be heard well. The bass guitar is slightly less intense in the mix than in predecessor Chants From Purgatory, but this does create an extra deep layer that you feel rather than hear. The clean interlude in this song is atonal with a nice solo and well-placed stop-and-go interruptions. For me, this song is the highlight of Icons Of Ruin.

Almost unnoticed, Ungodliness is then introduced. It is the first filler because Graceless stray a bit from the formula used up to now. You start to notice that Graceless, in addition to not too complicated riffs, chooses a fairly standard structure in its songs. The middle part sounds just too artificial to be good and proves that death metal in general and Graceless in particular do not need complexity. Just ram and pound! That is what these four gentlemen are good at.

The closing Resurrection Of The Grave has also been on YouTube for a while. Although the clip was clearly made with Artificial Intelligence (check the guitarist’s hand at 3:03), it is a nice closing track for Icons Of Ruin. Graceless has lowered the tempo a bit on Icons Of Ruin compared to their previous work. It is still too fast to call it doom, but it works well. Graceless has definitely established itself in the metal scene with this album and is now definitely a force to be reckoned with! The band seems to feel like a fish in water with this style and knows how to convey that excellently. To indicate the progression and still leave some room for growth, I give one point more than colleague Faasen.

Score:

94/100

Label:

Listenable Records, 2025

Tracklisting:

  1. God Shines In Absence
  2. Sanctified Slaughter
  3. Lash Me To My Painful Death
  4. Night Of The Slain
  5. Hardening Of The Heart
  6. Ungodliness
  7. Rise Of The Blackest Sun
  8. A King In The Filth
  9. Beneath Starless Skies
  10. Resurrection Of The Graveless

Line-up:

  • Remco Kreft – Vocals, guitar
  • Bjorn Brusse – Guitar
  • Jasper Aptroot – Bass guitar
  • Marc Verhaar – Drums

Links: