Imagine the anticipation of Discharge fans in 1986, patiently awaiting a new full length after years of EPs and compilations since 1982, with sparse touring since 1984. With excitement, they rush home from the record store, eager to spin the long-awaited release, only to get… this.
Of course the music itself is bad - lacks any sense of urgency or intensity; it has slowed down and songs are 4+ minute death marches, neither fast-paced like classic Discharge…and even with the change cannot capture essence of 80s heavy or glam metal.
But it’s really the vocals that damn this record. Cal’s vocals, once a signature angry bark, have undergone a complete transformation that can only be described as a castrated falsetto - early hints were found in 1985’s EP Ignorance but its dialed up to 11 here. This shift is jarring, making Vince Neil sound like a virtuoso by comparison.
The tour in support of the album was met with violent response, as fans booed Discharge off stage. Even revisiting old classics couldn’t salvage the debacle, with Cal’s vocals staying in their falsetto…. a performance that warrants a tossed rotten tomato at the least. Bad Brains dumped ice on them from a balcony on one occasion. leading to aborted performances and a cancelled tour and Cal quitting the band (for now).
Yes, there are people who like this album - but honestly, it’s atrocious and unlistenable. Grave New World struggles to stand on its own merits, even if this wasn’t a Discharge album. Side B feels like an eternity of auditory torture with the 15 minute Downward Spiral, an honestly sad song about drug addiction that has the effect of making you wish you were ODing so the torture was over.
From an era when it seemed like any punk or hardcore band with some notoriety ended up “selling out” and trying to “go commercial.” It’s reminiscent of Celtic Frost’s ill-fated Cold Lake—a curiosity and a laughing stock. Grave New World sealed their fate in disappointment.