Gloson - Grimen



Big, heavy, and full of massive moments, Gloson’s newest offering, Grimen, is a formidable and enjoyable entry into the over-saturated and convoluted “doom/sludge” genre. 

Let me begin this review with a bit of an aside- I do not generally enjoy the music associated with the words “sludge” or “doom”.  However, I do not believe that it is because of the traits inherent with that particular “genre”… a term here that I use loosely.  I enjoy forceful music that drives and may be considered “slower” than a great deal of today’s technical metal.  I find myself entranced by the drone of the guitar work of bands like Gruzer, Mastodon, and others that can call themselves members of this particular sonic circle and the oppressive tonality it creates.  Yet again, it feels as though more than half of the submissions for review that I receive consider themselves to be “sludge/doom” metal… and they use that title to explain why they have no sense of cohesion, no pride in their tone, and no discernable musicality. 

With Gloson, you get all of the great, and none of the bad. 

From the opening hit of the massive wall of guitars, one can easily tell that this will be more than just your typical drone metal.  Gloson obviously takes pride in their craft.  The bass tone has a meaningful growl that has been cultivated and created to add to their sound.  The lead guitar parts while simple by design, they add atmosphere and beauty over an absolutely monstrous backing track.  The drums are precise and thumping with great emphases on dynamics.   They also use parts and pieces of softness and buildup in order to create musical drama.  The best example of this is found in the song Cringe, my favorite track on the album, which slows to an acoustic bridge that is as beautiful as it is haunting, until the drums slowly build back up to a cathartic section filled with beauty and range.  This is goose bump inducing material. 

Grimen satisfies every single part of my musical appetite.   It has aggressiveness.  It has emotion.  It is art.  I hope people reach out and give this album a chance… as Gloson has the chance to become a flag-bearer for an over-saturated genre of metal.

-The Professor


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