Turn it Down: Q&A with Low Graves vocalist Adam Burmeister

Low Graves  "Absence" EP release show

Saturday, July 27 @ The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. All ages, $5, 6  p.m.

Over the past couple of years, Low Graves has been steadily honing its heated hardcore sound. To date, the band has released one EP, 2018’s “No Better Off,” but another is nearly here. Saturday at The Loft, the Lansing-based outfit releases its “Absence” EP, offering up yet another installment of heavy tracks. The $5 cover charge includes a free download of the new tracks. Opening acts include Wormfoot, Dead Daughters, Dead Hour Noise, Resividis, Throne, Bitter Truth and Illusionist.

Low Graves comprises lead vocalist Adam Burmeister and fellow Michigan-metal vets Joel Mathews on guitar and vocals, Cam Leadfeather on guitar, Daniel Fell on bass and Bob Hanley on drums. Burmeister, 33, chatted with City Pulse about the new EP and how he formed the band.

Your vocals and lyrics on the new “Absence” EP are once again fierce and potent. What’s been inspiring them recently?

Adam Burmeister: Lyrically I really just wanted to vent. There’s a lot going on in the world that isn’t good. There’s a lot going on in the world that deserves no reaction other than anger and sadness. A lot of Low Graves lyrics are me processing those things out loud. Not anger towards people, to be clear, but anger and frustration with humankind in general. Anger with the polarized culture we’ve all seemingly bought into and the reality of our imperfect world — to put it nicely.

Are there any lyrical themes on the new EP?

When we were about five songs in, I was throwing some ideas around for the title when I noticed the theme of absence. Whether it was the song about being present when my grandma died — “Legacy” —or the sad reality that most people live fueled by themselves or ignorance — “Runaway”. I noticed that I mostly write about things that produce anger and sadness — absence was a common thread. My personal favorite is the last track, “Shattered.” Lyrically it’s one of the most personal for me, but musically it’s gritty, fast and hard-hitting.

You write the lyrics, but how does the music come together? 

Joel pretty much writes all the music. The other guys have input and they collaborate on stuff, but then Joel typically hashes it out. Musically we’re all influenced by different bands. But what I said in the first discussions with Joel is that I wanted Low Graves to be loud, heavy and angry. I think our first EP, “No Better Off,” was really sort of us figuring out what we were going to sound like. The first two songs are us figuring out our sound, the last two songs are us settling in.

A friend of mine, after I first showed him the song “Existence,” said it felt like he just got kicked in the head 100 times in a row and that every Low Graves song should be that heavy. Then someone on BandCamp reviewed “No Better Off” and described it as “pummeling hardcore.” Listening back to “Silent” and “Existence,” I think that really captures what we landed on: Loud, heavy, angry — pummeling.

How did you produce that first EP?

We released “No Better Off” in October 2018. We recorded it ourselves. Then our friend Nate Iversen, who plays guitar for No Way to Live and helps run Smog Moon Recordings, mixed and mastered it. After that, we wrote and recorded the song “Us” for a benefit compilation for a nonprofit called Humanity Against Disease that Smog Moon Recordings released. From there, we never really stopped writing until we had “Absence.”

What’s next for the band?

Play shows, eventually record some more, play more shows and have fun. We’ve played around Lansing a bit, at The Avenue, Displaced Manor, The Loft and StoopFest. We’ve also played in Battle Creek and Detroit, but we really haven’t played out too much — so now we’re looking to get out more often.