Grand Magus - The Hunt (2012)Release ID: 6783
Similarly with Moonspell, I was listening to a lot of Grand Magus until a couple years ago when I decided to have my hiatus from The Fallen (due to this band's first two albums that are stoner/doom metal). I'm glad to be able to revisit an album from those bands and bring back some good memories...
In saying that, it's probably just as well that I faded out from listening to Grand Magus. As interesting as the lyrics are, in some albums, they seem to lean into a more atheist pagan theme. I'm not saying they're as antichristian as black metal bands, but they might cause some religious discomfort. At least the sound is pretty cool, moving away from their old doom metal roots while having a moderately mid-tempo pace in the majority songs. And that wicked cover art reminds me a lot of Assassin's Creed.
The weakest track "Starlight Slaughter" just had to be the one to start an otherwise well-done album. There's nothing incredible around to stand out. "Sword of the Ocean" drives through with greater courage, especially in the soloing. The poor "Valhalla Rising" doesn't have much impact in the simple riffing. But at least it's not religiously edgy.
Then things really move forward in "Storm King", making up for the downward quality in two of the earlier tracks. It works so well as full force is applied to the clever verses and riffing. They strike hard in a strong pace. "Silver Moon" has great vocal passion. The title track has incredible riffing, reaching its best at the bridge. They're all filled with primal destruction perfect for a vikings vs. knights battle.
Then we come to the exceptional two-part epic "Son of the Last Breath". The first part "Nattfödd" (Night Born) is an ethereal acoustic section like a bard playing in the night, which I like more than Blind Guardian's "Bard Song". The second part "Vedergällning" (Retribution) rises into a climatic anthem that deems the epic a total highlight. After that is the fast and furious "Iron Hand", and that's where the band sounds the best, playing fast and heavy. What also makes it stand out is the soloing that I totally dig. "Draksådd" (Dragon Seed) closes the album with the same poor quality as how the album began, though since they're relaxing after all that heavy speed, I'll let it slide.
The Hunt is a pretty great album with many excellent tracks and only a couple week ones. Their music is nicely strong, heavy while not doomy. The lyrics aren't totally pagan that would've led them to be either viking-related or heathen. Everything's intense while at the same time pleasant. The band has achieved it all with killer songs, though the quality in a few others could've been much more improved....
Favorites: "Sword of the Ocean", "Storm King", "The Hunt", "Son of the Last Breath", "Iron Hand"
