Grand Magus
Wolf's Return

Bitter disappointment: at first listen, this “Wolf's Return” can sound like a big disappointment. What else to expect from a band named Grand Magus, discovered by Lee Dorrian and distributed by his label “Rise Above” if not a massive stoner-doom done really well?

Setting aside the psychedelic blues inflections of their 2002 debut “Grand Magus” and the excellent follow-up “Monument,” the Swedish band led by Janne “JB” Christofferson (who also lends his voice to cousins Spiritual Beggars) decisively shifts towards more truly metallic shores, embracing the styles of power and epic metal.

Okay, so it's just a matter of recalibrating the evaluation parameters, forgetting you bought the CD you thought you were buying, and shaking desert, cacti, dust, and motorcycles from your mind. Cold, ice, rocks, and stormy seas: adjusting brain and ears to these frequencies, we’ll realize that Grand Magus is a band no longer haunted by the seventies ghosts typical of the genre but is finally able to forge a sufficiently original sound and craft the typical well-played and balanced metal album, which pleases with an excellent mix of well-measured and fitted elements. Grand Magus, even with a bit of cunning, finally reclaim their cultural identity, well aware that Sweden is not Texas.

The priest-like “Kingslayer” surprises, with its rocky riffs, its galloping double bass drum, and its epic chorus that seems exhaled from the corpse of a Rob Halford after a lethal injection of molten lead: the new Grand Magus rock, the sounds are full, rich, perhaps a bit too polished for some tastes accustomed to shattered amplifiers and fuzzy effects, but undoubtedly provide the ideal dish to serve a well-cooked meal based on Candlemass, Manilla Road, Judas Priest, and Bathory. Yes, Bathory indeed, since this album, more than any other Grand Magus release, is inspired by a cold Nordic wind capable of projecting sublime postcards in our minds depicting pristine fjords and grim coves of rancid, foamy seas, is dedicated to the deceased Quorton, along with other “departed heroes”. And this is already understood from the formidable second track, the mighty “Nine”, which slows down the tempo and brings Our heroes back within the ranks of classic Swedish doom, where the first name that comes to mind is naturally that of the gods of the homeland, Candlemass.

Among faster tracks, more pachydermic moments, and excellent atmospheric interludes (yet always vigorously metallic), the album flows beautifully. JB's voice, closer to a spirited Dickinson than to the nasal tone of grandpa Ozzy, doesn’t reach unusual heights nor does it sink into the muddy growls of an alcoholic in putrefying constipation; his guitar doesn’t indulge in high-level virtuosities, of course, but it can’t be said that his riffs are evil or that they don’t work in the scheme of the whole. Same for Fredrik Estby’s drums (ex-Dismember), which has the merit of often keeping the right time, a cadenced drumming, with that touch of galloping martiality that allows JB's guitar to effectively grind powerful riffs and more meditative doom bursts (complete with plates thrashed to give a measured sense of asphyxiation): in short, the album doesn’t have a coupe de theatre around the corner, but it will entertain enough not to get bored for the scant 38 minutes it lasts. Kudos finally to Fox’s bass, which, standing out here and there, knows how to carve out moments of protagonism, giving the trio’s sound the right rawness overall.

Thus, the title-track offers authentic emotion for its aggressive epicness (the acoustic interlude is thrilling), “Jarnbord” is an evocative interlude with whale calf cries in the distance, while “Repay in Kind” approaches the power of thrash metal.

But it is in the finale that we get to taste what our new Vikings are made of: “Ashes”, “Light Hater” and the instrumental reprise of the title track linger on the band's more atmospheric and decadent side, especially the last one, whose electroacoustic phrasing (bordering on the most anguished black metal) will not fail to enthrall those enthusiastic about the untamed Northern lands. Epicness cubed.

A great album overall, this 2005 Wolf's Return, of course if taken for what it is. Or rather, not taken for what it is not...