| CD REVIEW Grand Magus |
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Band : Grand Magus This is the fifth album from this unique sounding heavy metal act, a band with a very high standard; their four previous albums were all excellent. The music is honest, well crafted and carried out with passion, conveying a sincere feeling that these guys are living for it. Even if the music is build upon a fundament created by Priest, Maiden, Manowar and Sabbath, it has an own angle. Grand Magus plays melodic heavy metal with Nordic Viking Mythology themes. Yes, it is all written before, but do we honestly ever get tired of those themes? The answer is no. Especially not when the music is so well put together as here on Battle Of The North. The first thing that springs to my mind is how melodic and catchy this album is. Fox handles the grooving bass, Seb the great, uplifting and detailed drums while JB performs fantastic melodic and extreme high quality guitar playing. However, the real star of the show here is Viking chief god JB again. He sounds absolutely fabulous and can easily stand alongside any male vocalist in the genre. The songs are all very varied - they are not all alike as it is unfortunately seen much too often. The production (done by Nico Elgstrand) of the album is very good too - nothing to complain about here. The first single, videoclip and title number “Hammer Of The North” is not only the best song on the album, it is also one of the best songs of 2010 in the genre. Hopefully this will become a classic, certainly it is in my book already. I can't get the vocal melodies of that one out of my head, which is a surefire sign of their undeniable catchiness. Hail Hammer Of The North! 92/100 Cosmicmasseur. |