Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Grand Magus - Hammer of the North (2010)
So, in terms of context for why I chose this as my featured release for this month, back when I was a consultant working the length and breadth of the British Isles I found myself working for a number of weeks in a place called Milton Keynes which is a short train ride out of London (for the uninitiated). Given hotel prices in London, I opted to stay the other side of Milton Keynes in a place called Northampton in a hotel near the train station. Each day on my commute to Milton Keynes on the train I would be making that soulless journey to the tune of Hammer of the North, raising my spirits with the rousing metal of one of Sweden's finest exports.
As such, this album holds a particular nostalgic place in my heart for accompanying me through a time when I was far away from home and encouraged to imagine places even further away thanks to the amazing imagery conjured by the fantastical lyrics of JB Christoffersson. As a side note I was bitterly disappointed during my research for this review to find that the digital copy I owned (?) has disappeared from my music stream and also other popular streaming services. As much as I am a fan of the physical formats of albums, my overarching experience of this album was on digital format and it is a little disappointing to see it absent from immediate access outlets due to whatever bullshit politics goes on between streaming services and record labels.
Anyway, the main thing I like about this record is that (in the main) it encapsulates everything I got into metal for in the first place. Memorable songs, hooks that bury themselves so deep into your flesh they pierce internal organs, an aggressive and gruff style that make the music seem inaccessible despite it being one of the more immediate releases I owned (shakes fist at the internet), melodic yet never flashy leads and song writing so catchy it is fucking criminal. At the same time you will notice a less than five star rating because I honestly can see the limitations of the record despite all that I love about it. It is an album that tries to be nothing other than what it is; a record made by genuine fans of heavy metal that may be more than a little guilty of flogging the same ideas more than once, yet it does this so well it is near impossible to resist it's charms.
If you read my reviews with any regularity on here you will pick up that I note the quality levels of a record by how well I can recite the tracks in my head without having to listen to the album itself. Needless to say I can do at least seven of the ten tracks here from start to finish in my head - despite all the other shit that is in there at any given time that occupies valuable brain space. The album just rewards you after one listen, balancing melody and rampant rhythms perfectly as the simplicity of tracks such as the title track, Black Sails, Mountains Be My Throne, The Lord of Lies and Ravens Guide Our Way layer themselves in your memory banks, track after track.
As I go off to buy a physical copy of the album, I leave you with the notion that if all artists recorded albums like this (you know what I mean; throw caution to the wind, fuck what's cool today and lets just do what we like mentality) then the world would be a much better place. I have increased my rating by a half star during this review, just because I can.