Grand Magus - Iron Will - guest review
Grand Magus - Iron Will - guest review
Tracklist
01. Like The Oar Strikes The Water02. Fear Is The Key
03. Hövding
04. Iron Will
05. Silver Into Steel
06. The Shadow Knows
07. Self Deceiver
08. Beyond Good And Evil
09. I Am The North
Guest review by
Papa_Ray September 06, 2010
The sound of Iron Will is that of pure steel traditional metal, featuring mid-to-fast paced songs with highly catchy choruses, nimble bass work, and ballsy drumming, such as opener "Like the Oar Strikes the Water," the title track, and "Silver Into Steel." The third track, "Hövding," is a very brief bass instrumental that took me a while to understand why it was included, but now I see it as a nice precursor to the title track. Every single one of these songs feature riffs that immediately stick in your head, no matter where you are or what you are doing when you hear them. It seems that the band channeled all of their previous doom antics in the song "Self Deceiver," which features thunder sound effects, ghostly backing vocals and a startlingly sluggish riff when compared to the rest of the album. Vocalist/Guitarist JB Christoffersson is the man of the match here, busting out strong riffs and highly melodic solos like it is easy. His voice is a bit different for this type of music, but he musters strong emotion and sounds like he is behind every song 100%. If you don't believe me, just listen to "Fear is the Key." Perhaps to spice things up, he chooses to use a fair amount of vocal effects, especially during the last half of the album. Normally I like singers to present their vocals clearly, which Christoffersson does most of the time, but it is smartly used here and doesn't bother me at all. Bassist Fox Skinner is very noticeable on this record, due not only to his bass interludes but also to a thick sound that he has since stuck with. Drummer Seb Sippola provides the backbone by supplying interestingly simple beats. I love how he doesn't try to do much and gets in the pocket behind those massive riffs. There is chemistry in this band that you can only get out of a trio.
I strongly recommend getting this album. If you are a traditional heavy metal fan that enjoys songs about strength and paganism, portrayed by melodic riffing and emotional vocals, Iron Will is a must listen.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 10 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by Papa_Ray | September 06, 2010
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments:
8
Visited by
99 users
|
Posts: 247  |
Posts: 247
Good review  I agree - this album is criminally overlooked
Loading...
|
 Posts: 4774 |
Posts: 4774
Ah yes, I liked "Iron Will", but I personally found "Hammer Of The North" a stronger album. It may not have as much choruses as Iron Will, but it has more long term replay value for me and the riffs are better
---- loves 小巫
Loading...
|
|
Posts: 46 |
|
 Posts: 40071 |
Posts: 40071
I found Hammer Of The North quite disappointing. It sounds way to polished and slick. Sahg - III is the album that Grand Magus should have made instead of Hammer Of The North.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
Loading...
|
 Posts: 3493 |
Posts: 3493 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 09.09.2010 at 12:41 Don't know if it should have, but III is an awesome album indeed.
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
Loading...
|
| !J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted |
|
|
Posts: 179  |
Loading...
|
 Posts: 64476 |
Posts: 64476
I like part where writer tells thet band search directions, they in each did not coppy, but tock new parts and same is Grand Magus
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
|
Hits total: 6180 | This month: 4