Grand Magus
Sword Songs

In the end, perhaps you can't ask for anything else from such a group. And to think that going back in time, the Swedish trio started with stoner rock, doom, and various rawness (fortunately, some of that remains). Betrayed origins, or perhaps a simple and now matured shift towards a new approach to their sound: continuing with desert sounds from Sweden perhaps felt strange and out of place to them, and so over the years and albums, J.B. Christoffersson and company have veered towards an ever more canonical heavy, abandoning even the doomy reminiscences of those who grew up on bread and Candlemass. This journey can be said to have started with "Hammer of the North" (2010) and continued over the years. Already "Triumph and Power" (2014) was basic and cadenced heavy/epic, and in the new "Sword Songs," it's like witnessing a twin album: returning to work that wraps up in 35 minutes (ah, the '70s...) and where tracks struggle to surpass 4. Everything in its place, retro guitar, and finally a dirty and stinky sound, still not prone to the plasticky digitalization that is rampant in the metal panorama. At least they try to sound like the eighties.

So, "Sword Songs" is an extremely simple album, all song structure and lyrics in the style of "viking metal - bring you to your knees, viking metal - a warrior's decree, viking metal - death is victory, forged in iron, crowned in steel - viking metal". All quite clear. Now, there isn't a single second of the album, except for the negligible instrumental "Hugr", that isn't something you've already heard, between simple and all-same vocal lines, old school riffs, and paced mid-tempos ("Everyday There's a Battle to Fight"), but it must also be said that the work oozes epicness from every note, that stale basement epicness that is increasingly rare. Whether it's the opener "Freja's Choice" or the straightforward rhythm of "Master of the Land" (perhaps the best), Grand Magus don't take themselves too seriously and deliver an episode of old heavy that, even when listened to casually, manages to make you smile. Nothing at all, if not a canonical classic metal album that still hasn't yielded to compromise.

6