GRIMLORD : DOLCE VITA SATH-ANAS
Self-Released
Since their formation in 1999, Poland’s Grimlord have been a busy crew, pushing out a variety of demos in advance of a debut full-length “Blood Runneth Over” in 2007, and “Dolce Vita Sath-anas” towards the end of last year. Despite their prolific nature thus far, it’s difficult not to get the impression that Grimlord are still refining their style – the crunchy, racing heavy metal approach, with its faintly blackened edges and power metal inflections clearly works for the band, and some of the musical pyrotechnics on this release show they have the musicianship to carry such a style off, but in terms of song-writing, they’re still working things out.
The logic behind this statement is that although “Dolce Vita” runs to nine tracks, but only three of them feature vocals; this obviously wouldn’t be much cause for concern with many of the ambient or even black metal acts we feature here, but for a heavy metal band in the vein of Helloween or the like, where you ideally want that drama and heroism focused in a frontman, it’s a very weird move, particularly when the ‘full’ tracks are frontloaded to open the album. The uncharitable view would be that Grimlord didn’t have time to finish what they’d started, but I think it’s equally likely that this reliance on instrumental compositions was a little bit of an experiment, and a way of breaking out of the usual template, in which case, all power to them for trying.
It certainly serves to show off their technical skills. Barth’s guitar work comes up for special praise, being a crunching, shredding, thrashing rampage that packs plenty of ideas into a short space of time, and almost belies the need for a vocal when it’s at its most narrative, as on “Dissolution of Eternity”. “Ground Zero” is a strong track too, the guitar work here sounding satisfyingly creepy, yet muscular at the same time. The album leaves us on a high, with both “Avaricious Scavenger” and “Lamentation Sword” working around some measured, soaring riffs. Still, it’s when Grimlord are going full-throttle that they are best – the opening track has a ridiculous amount of stomp, overlaid by some excellent soloing, but it’s “When the Heads are Going Down” that is the stand-out. More exultant than emotive, in accordance with classic heavy metal tradition, this is a very well-written track with all the changes of pace and melodic flourishes you could wish for.
It’s unfortunate that Grimlord haven’t quite nailed their approach this time around, but on the other hand, “Dolce Vita Sath-anas” seems a more energetic and focused piece of writing than their previous efforts, and given that they’ve endured so long and put so much effort into their sound, it’s inconceivable that the band won’t go one better next time. For now, this is a very enjoyable collection of riffs, showing off some fine ideas and sharp skills – it’s definitely worth a spin on a sunny day, but we’ll wait to see where Grimlord go next.
60/100
ELLEN SIMPSON
