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"Earthen Grave's Dismal Times rewards increasingly on repeated listen ... Rachel Barton Pine, an accomplished and respected classical violinist, makes her strings burn, soar and rip, lending the material here a very unique edge... You can just see the heads banging in your mind ... and over the thrash the violin skitters, stabs and saws... trust me, you are unlikely to have ever heard anything quite like it ... If the doom gods are with us, this band will stay around and continue to produce the kind of unique, powerful and thoughtful music contained on Dismal Times."
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HellrideMusic.com

4.5 out of 5
"Pure, head-banging bliss! ... This group is onto something unique and fresh. What really sets the sextet apart is the inclusion of one Rachel Barton Pine on violin and the way her parts are written into the compositions... between her riffing with the guitars, she exhibits abundant fills, as well as leads, all in places where you'd expect to hear guitar leads. No mere atmospherics or chordal reinforcement here; even when the band reaches into high speed thrash territory - see "Death on the High Seas" - the effect achieved with the additional layer is astounding, let alone the prowess with which she plays."
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MaximumMetal.com

"Fresh sounding Metal that crosses over many styles while retaining a sense of originality ... I can picture the hair flying ... Rachel Barton Pine's musicianship shines throughout... The mixture of screeching violin and chugging guitars is very unique and it works ... Can't wait till the band gives us a full length with all originals... they have all the songwriting capabilities to make one of the best albums ever."
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Doommantia.com

"This writer got a chance to see the band live, and my head almost came unscrewed. The phrase “tighter than a gnat’s ass” comes to mind."
Decibel Magazine

"The vocals are strong, sounding like Chris Cornell back when he had a set. And in fact, much of the music is gathered from the past one way or another, but in the best ways possible. This is clearly evident in their crown jewel, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, whose deft interplaying and extensive classical background add to the group’s unique character... EPs this promising portend crushing full lengths..."
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mindovermetal.org

"Earthen Grave's deeply grounded sound ('bout six feet under, I'd say) fidgets like a seismograph needle between thrash, doom, stoner rock, classic metal, and psychedelia. Their lineup includes veterans of Trouble, the Living Fields, and Trifog, but what makes them more than your standard five headbangers in jeans is member six, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, a world-class classical player who debuted with the CSO at age ten). Pine is a very public metal fan of long standing, and when she lets her freak flag fly in Earthen Grave—she plays an electrified six-string monster called a Viper—it gives the band's music a jarring and otherworldly edge."
Chicago Reader