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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