Daniel's Forum Threads
Dead - "For Lovers of the New Bizarre" (2011)
German deathgrind outfit Dead & I first made our acquaintance back in 1994 when I stumbled over their split CD with Swedish goregrinders Regurgitate, a release that I quite liked at the time but one that wasn't strong quite enough to see me following Dead into the future with the band still active today. Earlier this week though, I decided to revisit the Dead/Regurgitate split &, while I was undertaking that exercise, I discovered that Dead's contribution to that release could be found in isolation on their 2011 "For Lovers of the New Bizarre" album. That particular record has given me some mild enjoyment over the last few days which has triggered me to write this review, a positive affirmation of the talents of a relatively unknown yet still more than decent extreme metal band who doesn't attempt to reinvent the wheel but understands the wheel's functionality & intent very well.
Dead had released five or six demos & E.P.'s prior to the Regurgitate split, none of which I recall hearing before, & would enter Nürnberg's Pinguin Studios with unknown engineer Rainer Deckelmann to record their side of the split album some time in the first half of 1994. Dead had maintained the three-piece lineup that recorded their initial demo tape "Far Beyond Your Imagination" three years earlier & you can hear that in the professional way they lay down their craft here. Their model seems to have been crafted on the early Carcass one with each of the three band members contributing vocals in a triple-threat configuration that sees deeper grunts being complimented by higher register gurgles. Dead's sound is thick, chunky & tight with their simple riffs being backed up by a unified delivery that leaves each song sounding not only very heavy but also quite catchy. In a stylistic sense, I feel that they have a foot in both the goregrind & classic death metal camps which is an attractive option for me personally as it allows me to take them a little more seriously than most bands that are connected with the goregrind movement.
The tracklisting is a touch top-heavy with the album opening with the best material, my favourites being the blasting title track & the equally high-quality demo track "Far Beyond Your Imagination" which had been re-recorded for this exercise. I particularly enjoy the sections where Dead slow things down a bit with the excellent production job giving the band's doomier side the weight it needs to draw a physical reaction from the listener. The blasting Carcass-inspired grind sections are also really exciting & are executed with a suitable level of precision. All of this material is pretty fun actually although I have to question the decision to include a silly cover version of Mentors' "Woman of Sodom" to close out the record because it does leave me a bad taste in my mouth. I know its lyrical themes fit in with Dead's sexually provocative image but its general silliness tends to detract from an otherwise pretty good release.
While "For Lovers of the New Bizarre" may not be essential listening, I've found myself getting into it quite a bit this week. I'm not sure it'll be enough to see me reaching for the rest of Dead's back catalogue but it was an admirable effort nonetheless. I've never been the biggest goregrind fan to be honest but this death metal-infused version seems entirely more palatable & is well worth exploring.
For fans of Blood, Pungent Stench & Fornicator.
3.5/5
World Below - Repulsion (2006)
World Below are a relatively unknown name outside of diehard swedish doom metal fandom. Formed in 1999, they involve veterans of a plethora of swedish metal bands such as Scar Symmetry, Grave and Carnal Forge, among many others, and have released three full-lengths to date, of which Repulsion is the third. They are still mooted as a going concern, but have been silent, at least as far as recorded material goes, for almost two decades now.
Repulsion is made up of five lengthy tracks with a 50+ minute runtime. Musically it has it's feet firmly planted in the eighties and early nineties and the old-school traditional doom metal of Pentagram, The Obsessed and lesser-known lights like Revelation with plenty of Sabbath-y moments, particularly during opening track, "Monsters in the Closet", with it's Ozzy-like vocals and "Children of the Grave" aping riff. Whilst the first half of the album sit firmly within the traditional doom metal sphere, the second also contains a significant stoner rock component and the album as a whole makes a nod or two in a progressive direction, particularly the epic twenty-minute, closer, "Monument", giving the second half more than a passing resemblance to the work of prog-stoner bands like Merlin.
The songwriting is very good, with the tracks all developing nicely, feeling like they are actually going somewhere and the technical aspects are very accomplished. The riffs are suitably heavy and mournful, the rhythm section of drummer Ronnie Bergerstål and bassist / vocalist Mikael Danielsson are unfussy and direct, providing solid footing for guitarist Jonas Kjellgren to launch some very satisfying solos, his Tony-Iommi influenced guitar work being the focal point for almost all the album's best moments.
It may well be that Repulsion is not going to satisfy the doom fan looking for bleak as hell, crushingly heavy, ultra-slow riffs and mournful, heart-achingly bereft vocals and the inclusion of some old-fashioned, rock-based riffs may further tip the scales against it, but if you are willing to forgive it it's perceived transgressions then it contains some fantastic lead work and memorable stoner doom riffs coupled with epic and skillful songwriting that may just persuade you of it's undoubted merits.
4/5
Year of the Cobra - ...In the Shadows Below (2016)
I first encountered this Seattle-based doom duo via their "The Black Sun" debut ep in 2015 and I have been quite the fan ever since. Comprising husband and wife team of bassist and vocalist Amy Tung and drummer, Jon Barrysmith, Year of the Cobra are a unique voice in the world of doom metal. Of course they are influenced by the usual suspects, such as Saint Vitus, Sabbath et al, but they eschew the use of guitars, relying on Amy's bass riffs to power the songs. Her bass playing reminds me quite often of Geezer Butler's classic Sabbath style, which oftentimes lends it a psychedelic and bluesy edge, planting Year of the Cobra firmly in the stoner doom camp. Vocally, she mainly uses a languid and breathy style that is laid-back and seductive like a nightclub jazz songstress, check out opener "Lion and the Unicorn" for a prime example. That isn't her only play, however, and she can also project more force when the need arises.
There are a number of pitfalls with having such a bare bones set-up of course, the tendency to fall into repetitive and hypnotic trance-like pieces for one, or just producing very basic, lo-fi garage metal with a heavy punk influence is another scenario. YotC fall into neither of these traps, however, thanks to an ability to write really nice doomy bass riffs which enable them to produce actual songs rather than just drawn-out jams, which are at once melodic and reasonably memorable, with an admirable variation in tempos and styles, from the longer, hulking, conventional doom tracks, through the psych-inflected catchiness of "Spider and the Fly", the punky vitality and urgency of "Persephone" and doom'n'roll of "Temple of Apollo" to bluesy jams such as closer "Electric Warrior". I think the bass lines are multi-tracked quite often, which also allows Amy's playing to become more expansive. Drummer Johannes is every bit as important to the success of the duo, his impeccable timekeeping obviously underpinning the tracks, but also his busy, jazzy style, again referencing Sabbath and drummer Bill Ward's love of jazz drummers, provides plenty to hold the the listener's attention and to engage with.
In conclusion, I think "...in the Shadows Below" is a great example of how much can be accomplished in the doom and stoner sphere by creative minds, even with the most basic of set-ups. Considering that, apart from a bit of multi-tracking, this is truly just drum, bass, and voice, the resulting variety, melodicism and memorability is an impressive feat of artistic endeavour.
4/5
Monolithe - "Black Hole District" [Death doom metal from Paris, France]
I missed 2022's "Kosmodrom" album but these guys are generally always worth checking out so I'll likely be partaking in this one at some point.
Impending Doom - "Live From Exile" [Deathcore from California, USA]
Morbid Angel/Slaughter Lord - "Split" E.P. (1987)
An underground bootleg 7" single release that includes Morbid Angel's "Invocation" introduction followed by an unacceptably poorly recorded live version of a rare Morbid Angel track called "Funerals" which I'd love to hear in a more suitable setting because what I can make out sounds brilliant with Trey going suitably nuts on lead guitar. The two Slaughter Lord tracks are pulled straight off of their 1987 "Taste of Blood" demo & are both good-to=great but I can't see a reason to invest in this one. You're better off chasing down the Slaughter Lord "Thrash Till Death" compilation on Spotify & giving the Morbid Angel section a miss altogether.
For fans of Necrovore, Poison (GER) & Immolation.
3/5
I hit random on my full library to try and get myself through a writing rut, and landed on this more recent Lacuna Coil album. Review below.
A Harsh Duet
Lacuna Coil have turned into one of those bands from my early music listening that I've come to regret somewhat. It's not that I was ever a massive fan or anything, it's just that their 2002 album Comalies gave me a bit of false hope that persisted for much too long. Comalies still holds up to me as an interesting and dreamy set of Gothic tinged Metal that has a very unique feel and atmosphere to it that, while not superb, hasn't been replicated too often. From then on, however, Lacuna Coil have wandered down the straight and narrow Alternative Metal path which is filled with straightforward songwriting and generic djenty chugs that have been done a million times over. Starting with Dark Adrenaline in 2012 they've found their formula and stuck with it to a ton of commercial success, but I can't say it does much for a seasoned listener who still insists on checking to see if this band decided to go back to their original, more unique sound.
Despite frontwoman Cristina Scabbia being the main draw for most, Black Anima is much more of a duet between her and bassist Andrea Ferro as they trade back and forth much more often than in previous albums. Ferro's vocals are also much more harsh centric, with his growls not sounding half bad with Lacuna Coil's heavier and more chug-centric approach this time around. While he's known for his awkward and divisive crooning, Black Anima has sidelined it to a few short moments in "Sword of Anger" and "Veneficium", replacing it with surprisingly inoffensive growls and fried cleans that compliment the heavier riffing style much better than his old standard. Scabbia proves to still be a Swiss army knife in the vocal department, swapping between forceful Power Metal like leads on "Sword of Anger", a more classic and gothic delivery on "Black Anima", and even tries her hand at a more screamy angle on the chuggy "Now or Never". Lacuna Coil were definitely going for a heavier album this time around so the bouncing between harsh and clean works in its favor, something I'm all too familiar with from other female fronted bands. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the two work together given how rough Ferro's vocals have been in the past, so that shows some massive growth for the band, especially this late in their career. Despite generic nature of the harshes, the interplay between the two is easily the highlight of the album as they do a great job of carrying the energy of each track.
Sadly that's about the only positive thing I have to say about this album, as the rest of the package falls in some sort of gray area between acceptably generic and downright boring. I can respect Lacuna Coil for trying to dial up the heaviness by incorporating djent-y chugs and even some Metalcore sounding snippets in tracks like "Now or Never" and the beginning of "Layers of Time", but most of the riffs end up falling flat due to being simple and unremarkable or just buried behind the wildly mixed drums and bass. It's just a guess, but it seems like they wanted to have a super punchy and rhythmic mix, but the unison chugs are about the only thing that sound cohesive on the album. The kick drum and bass are blown out to the point where they overtake pretty much every riff, with the bass being scratchy and overpowering in more sweeping sections like on "Now Or Never". Don't get me wrong, I'm a bass enjoyer, but even I was a bit taken aback when the djent chug was completely taken over by the bass throughout most of the album. I can commend Lacuna Coil for taking their style to the more extreme end as I don't think this album is entirely bad, but it leaves much to be desired apart from the admittedly interesting vocals. I'm glad that Ferro stepped up his game in order to be a worthy duet to Scabbia, but it feels like the rest of the band didn't catch the memo as the entire album consists of tracks that are varying degrees of fine and somewhat interesting for a few sections.
2.5/5
A couple of old favourites that have finally given up the ghost:
A really solid list this month guys. There were one or two standouts, though. Number one for me was The Chasm track - I really need to dig deeper into these guys' discography. I have only heard their 2000 album, "Procession to the Infraworld" which I dug quite a lot. Elsewhere, tracks that stood out, that I was unaware of, were those by Edge of Sanity, Necrot, Defeated Sanity and Mortem. A few I already know and enjoy were from Coffins, Nile and Immolation. The only one I struggled with a bit was the Kataklysm track, mainly because of the vocals - I liked the tone of them, but the guy's delivery was really awkward and it seemed like he was trying to cram too many lyrics into each line which I ultimately found distracting.
Nice work by everyone involved.
Vicious Circle - "Rhyme with Reason" (1987)
It's been interesting to revisit the (alleged) third album from Melbourne hardcore punks Vicious Circle after so many years this week because it immediately raised some with me about its legitimacy as a genuine album. I don't recall having these thoughts when I first encountered the album as a teenager but it very soon became obvious that 1987's "Rhyme with Reason" record was more of a compilation of previously available material than it was the brand-new record that the vast majority of internet resources seem to have blindly taken it for. Those critics have clearly never heard Vicious Circle's 1986 "Reflections" album though as ten of the thirteen tracks included on "Rhyme with Reason" were taken from that record. Another (i.e. experimental post-punk song "Nightmare So Quick") has been borrowed from 1986's "Hidden-Supervision?" single too so fans of Vicious Circle's previous work should be aware of that before running off to purchase the vinyl at great expense. I could only really identify one short line that read "Note that 'Rhyme With Reason' was in part a compilation of material that had previously been issued in the Australian market" on the Discogs page for the release which confirmed my suspicions that these tracks are in fact the same versions that can be found on the disappointing "Reflections". That doesn't make "Rhyme with Reason" a redundant release though. On the contrary, it makes "Reflections" one as "Rhyme with Reason" manages to rectify some of the flaws in Vicious Circle's sophomore album by omitting a couple of the weaker songs that I felt tarnished it. It also adds a couple of fairly raw new tracks that we hadn't heard from the band before, admittedly with mixed results though to be fair.
As with Vicious Circle's earlier releases, I really struggle with the idea of "Rhyme with Reason" having much to do with the crossover thrash tag it so often seems to attract. There's really only a single track included that fits that mold in the new song "Turn to Stone" which is also one of the two weaker numbers that form an unfortunate mid-album quality dip with the other being the heavy metal/hard rock number "Hope & Wait" which I didn't enjoy much on "Reflections" either. The vast majority of the album still falls into hardcore punk territory although I'd suggest that there is enough conventional punk rock in brand-new opening track "Rule 17" & closer "Inside Operation" for it to be claimed as an influence, along with post-punk which shows its head on "Nightmare So Quick" & a good chunk of "Inside Operation" too. There's a touch less of the experimentation that was attempted on "Reflections" with "Rhyme with Reason" feeling a little more traditional in terms of hardcore punk, mainly because of the omission of the title track from "Reflections" which was overly long & also pretty awful to be fair.
"Rhyme with Reason" doesn't possess too much in the way of highlights but the vast majority of the material is enjoyable enough. As with "Reflections", the excellent hardcore punk tune "Mass Confusion" once again represents the clear high point of the record for me & it's a shame that none of the other material could match it because there was a fair bit of potential in some of these tracks. As it stands though, "Rhyme with Reason" ends up being another pretty enjoyable hardcore record from Vicious Circle but, as with their earlier releases, it still hasn't managed to become one that I can see myself returning to in the future. Even though I quite like it, I do tend to find myself favouring Vicious Circle's earlier material over "Rhyme with Reason" with their earliest demo recordings still offering me the most in terms of appeal. "The Price of Progress" is my preference of their first three full-length albums (if we're gonna include "Rhyme with Reason" as one of those like the rest of the internet seems to). Still, I can't deny the relevance of this record in terms of the band's overall discography as I'd highly recommend that you skip "Reflections" altogether & go direct to the stronger "Rhyme with Reason" if you're hellbent on exploring the Melbourne punks back catalogue.
For fans of early Permanent Damage, Condemned? & Depression.
3.5/5
Smoulder - Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring (2019)
Smoulder are a five-piece formed in 2013 and centred around married couple, guitarist Shon Vincent and vocalist Sarah Ann. Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring marked the band's debut full-length and followed their well-received three-track demo, The Sword Woman, which supplied two of the six tracks featured here.
Musically the album skirts the border between epic doom and good, old-fashioned heavy metal, tinged with a pinch of USPM. They lean more towards the triumphal heroicism of Solstice's brand of epic doom rather the more mournful laments of, say, Solitude Aeternus with the tempos of most of the tracks edging towards the pacier end of the doom metal arsenal, never really dropping to the ploddingly mournful pacing more common of most doom metal albums. The downtuned guitar and meaty bottom end still sit this within the doom metal sphere, though, with only a couple of tracks, "Bastard Steel" and "Voyage of the Sunchaser", edging into heavy or power metal territory and both of which are riotous, fist-pumping headbangers. The riffs on display throughout are solid and project vitality, power and strength, whether galloping at pace or hulking at a more sedate pace. The riffs are more than capably bolstered by a tight-knit rhythm section of drummer Kevin Hester and bassist Adam Blake, both of whose work is neat and effective. The leadwork of both Shon Vincent and second guitarist Collin Wolf is confidently done, with some fine solos that are expressive and exhilharating without ever leaning towards the self-indulgent.
Inevitably, though, the main focus of attention is going to be vocalist Sarah Ann Kitteridge whose powerful pipes are perfectly suited to the more epic style that Smoulder are going for. Like a female Messiah Marcolin, her voice soars above the instrumentation, demanding the attention of the listener. This is no slight on the rest of the band members, but her voice does project such irresistible power that it is impossible for it not to become the focus and luckily she has the talent to carry off such a central role, never wavering or losing pitch which, unfortunately, I hear all too often nowadays from vocalists operating outside their capabilities.
The songwriting is generally of a high quality and is split between most of the band members, with only Adam Blake not contributing, which allows for some nice variation, yet illustrates the band's unity of vision as the tracklisting is very consistent. Lyrically, they fall back on the well-worn metal trope of sword and sorcery epic fantasy storytelling for the most part, with opener, "Ilian of Garathorm" delving into an old epic metal staple, Michael Moorcock's world of Elric and The Eternal Champion.
Overall this is a well-executed slab of triumphalistic metal that reaches back to the earlier days of the genre, yet is still refreshingly exciting and vital and should appeal to anyone who still loves the power and glory of epic metal storytelling.
4/5
Cannibal Corpse - "Dead Forever" (1992)
A live bootleg release that was clearly recorded with a handheld tape recorder at a 1991 show in Germany. The inclusion of Suffocation's "Reincremated" demo tacked onto the end is a clear plus as it should be essential listening for any fan of the more brutal end of the death metal spectrum but the overall release isn't worth your hard-earned money (or mine as was the case back in 1992 when I purchased the CD).
For fans of Deicide, Cannabis Corpse & Monstrosity.
3/5
Moonspell - Wolfheart (1995)
Contrary to appearances, I don't think I am especially dogmatic when it comes to metal appreciation and one illustration of this is the softening of my stance regarding gothic metal over the last couple of years. At one time I wouldn't have given an album such as Wolfheart the time of day, but exposure to top gothic metal perpetrators such as Paradise Lost and Draconian has definitely shifted my view on the genre and what it is capable of. I recently listened to Moonspell's 2008 album, Night Eternal and I enjoyed it quite a bit, awarding it a princely four stars, so I went into the band's debut, 1995's Moonspell, with high hopes.
Was this optimism justified then? Well, yes... and no. Musically there was plenty here that took my fancy, the guitar work especially standing out. The tone of the six-strings is great and the bass supplies a nice deep bottom end. The riffs are dolorous, heavy and quite memorable but the solos are the best thing about the album, in fact it's a pity the leads aren't given a bit more of a free rein as I would have liked to hear more from Tanngrisnir and Mantus in the vein of the soloing in the latter part of the opener.
Unfortunately Wolfheart suffers from the same bugbear that I have always had with a lot of gothic metal, that of excessive cheesiness. This takes the form of a heavy-handed application of synths, smothering a number of the tracks with a suffocating layer of 1980's-like keyboards that just doesn't sit well with me at all. The synths aren't the only issue though because the vocals annoyed me almost as much. The gruff, deathly male vocals are fine, but the forced, deep, clean male vocals that seem intended to mimic Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker's Dracula still sound as ludicrous as I have always found that style of singing to be. There is, of course, several tracks with supposedly ethereal female vocals but, and I have no wish to be unkind, the effect is ruined because, to be frank, Birgit Zacher is here sounding like she is fighting to stay in tune, with "Love Crimes" especially sounding like she is struggling. Then, as if that wasn't enough there is also the track Trebaruna which is a full-on folk metal cheesefest and does absolutely nothing positive for me whatsoever.
Overall, then, I would have to say that although Wolfheart has some aspects I really enjoyed, especially when it is at it's heaviest or when the leads are firing off solos, the album's inherent theatricality is just too jarring for me to excuse completely, no matter how much I may enjoy it's positives and so ultimately it's score has to be accordingly middle-of-the-road.
3/5
Mefitis - "The Skorian // The Greyleer"
American wizards of twisted, melodic black/death return with their third full-length, to be released later this month. I'm a big fan of pretty much everything these fellas have put out so far, so I'm very excited to hear what they have in store for us this time. I'd suggest fans of The Chasm, Inanna, Adramelech & Alf Svensson era At the Gates should prepare their ears for a treat!
Will be out November 29th, on Profound Lore Records
https://profoundlorerecords.com/mefitis-announce-new-album-the-skorian-the-greyleer
Katatonia - Discouraged Ones (1998)
The latest subject of my quest to rate all the albums on the Fallen chart has led me to Katatonia's 1998 third full-length. I've got a bit of a troubled history with Katatonia, with my earliest exposure to them, Last Fair Deal Gone Down not at all being to my liking. However, both Brave Murder Day and the subsequent Sounds of Decay EP restored my confidence in the Swedes and I enjoyed both quite a bit. Oh dear, between those and this, though, things went horribly wrong. I found this to be incredibly insipid, with the comparison that kept leaping into my mind being "it's metal Coldplay". I have no intention of providing a full review because that would entail me having to listen to it several more times, a prospect that is just too daunting for me to contemplate, even though my doctor says I need to get my blood pressure down and listening to something this bland on hard rotation may well manage that. Sure there were a couple of decent tracks, "Cold Ways" and "Saw You Drown" are quite nice, but the vocals are the most banal I have heard this side of Chris Martin. I'm really sorry to anyone who does love this (I know Ben is a fan) and I mean no disrespect, but I disliked it immensely. Discouraged Ones? Yeah, I'm one of 'em.
2/5
VOLA - Friend of a Phantom
Didn't know which clan to put this in, so I put it in both! Progressive/alternative Danish band VOLA are back with their fourth studio album through Mascot Records.
Stream or download the album here:
https://volaband.bandcamp.com/album/friend-of-a-phantom
VOLA - Friend of a Phantom
Didn't know which clan to put this in, so I put it in both! Progressive/alternative Danish band VOLA are back with their fourth studio album through Mascot Records.
Stream or download the album here:
https://volaband.bandcamp.com/album/friend-of-a-phantom
Accu§er - "Rebirthless"
The thirteenth full-length from these German thrash metal stalwarts. I haven't heard their last couple but they've never been particularly consistent so this one could go either way. I might check it out at some point.
Serpent Column - "Tassel of Ares" [Fourth album from this US black metal duo]
These guys are always good so I'm looking forward to checking out this new one which hit the streets a week or so back.
Grand Magus - Sunraven (2024)
Grand Magus are one of my favourite bands, a go-to act when I long for some epic norse heavy metal and a consistent provider of fist-pumping and horns-raising battle hymns. Sunraven is the trio's tenth album and comes a full five years after the very solid, if not exactly earth-shattering, Wolf God. Well, was it worth the wait? I would give an unequivocal "hell yeah!" To my ears this is the band's best since 2012's stellar The Hunt.
Metal has become a very diverse scene over the years. There are bands who push the envelope of what it is to be metal, there are bands that strive to be ever more extreme in brutality or heaviness, there are yet others who seek to elicit deep emotions and those who create gorgeous, sweeping and epic soundscapes. All those are great and deserve every respect, but one of the most maligned types of metal bands that exist today are those that know what their fanbase expect and enjoy and who deliver that in the form of expertly crafted songs that tap into the days when fans listened to metal for enjoyment and to pump their fists in the air whilst banging their heads out of sheer exuberance for the glorious sounds leaping at them from out of their speakers. Grand Magus are one such band and, in my opinion, one of the best. This is metal that is meant to be experienced and enjoyed, not dissected by chin-stroking pseudo-intellectuals who would shit themselves at the mere thought of diving into a moshpit.
Sunraven is a very tight album, it's nine tracks run for a total of only thirty-five minutes, so there is no self-indulgent wankery here, this is to-the-point and succinct metal that encapsulates the very essence of the genre. The production is great, with superb clarity and a nice depth to the sound, especially in it's vinyl format. Grand Magus have few contemporary rivals in heavy metal when it comes to writing sing-along choruses and memorable riffs that swirl around your head for days. I for one find it almost impossible to get through a GM album without bawling out at least one chorus, much to the consternation of all the other dog walkers in the woods that day, I dare say!
The rhythm section of bassist Fox and drummer Ludwig are terrific, the drums here sound excellent in fact, and the basslines are economical and powerful, the two operating as a tight and efficient unit, but, let's be honest, Grand Magus are defined by guitarist and vocalist, JB and he is on fine form throughout Sunraven's runtime. He has a strong and fairly powerful, yet unstrained voice with a clear delivery which enables the listener to discern all the lyrics easily. His guitar work is impressive, without being even remotely showy, with well-written, memorable riffs and some of his finest solos to date, sounding natural and efficient but also epic and vital at the same time, which is not always an easy feat to achieve.
There really isn't much more to say, Sunraven is unapologetically business as usual for Grand Magus, but when your business is just so fucking metal then who's going to complain. They take great delight in the tropes of heavy metal and celebrate their own scandinavian heritage and epic myths with pride and affection it seems. I, for one, am glad that a band like Grand Magus, who possess an instinctive feel for metal, still exist and have carved out a dedicated following of nuts who are still able to celebrate the genre for the escapist, life-affirming wonder that it is capable of being. If tracks like !Skyborne", "Wheel of Pain", "Hour of the Wolf" and the title track aren't capable of getting your head nodding and your fingers twitching of their own accord in an attempt to throw the horns, then you probably need to check your pulse... or at least your metal credibility!
4.5/5