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Record Label, Extreme Metal, Darkthrone, Morbid Angel, Dissection, Mayhem, Marduk, CD, Cassette, MC, Vinyl, Horror, Satan, Evil, Death, Slipknot, Frost,
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| GRENDEL - DRAGONS AWAKENING CD |
| RELEASES |
| AFFILIATE SITES |
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| MEDIA |
| REVIEWS |
Tracklisting:
1. Legacy
2. On The Throne
3. Sepulchral Treasure
4. The Dragon Awakes
5. Death Prophecy
6. The End is Near
7. Beowulf Funeral Pyre
8. Bad Days are Coming
9. Epitaph
1. Legacy
2. On The Throne
3. Sepulchral Treasure
4. The Dragon Awakes
5. Death Prophecy
6. The End is Near
7. Beowulf Funeral Pyre
8. Bad Days are Coming
9. Epitaph
Italy's masters of Epic Black Metal return with the follow-up to their highly touted "Beowulf" debut.
Featuring a collection of some of the most blazing Black Metal to be unleashed upon the ears of the
underground for some time yet containing an Epic quality lost on the new age of basement black
metal clones. Definitely something that anyone who worshiped at the altars of the likes of
Nachtfalke, classic Stormblast-era Dimmu, and Shadowthrone-era Satyricon should be setting their
sites on. Not to be missed!
WEB: www.myspace.com/trona1980
Featuring a collection of some of the most blazing Black Metal to be unleashed upon the ears of the
underground for some time yet containing an Epic quality lost on the new age of basement black
metal clones. Definitely something that anyone who worshiped at the altars of the likes of
Nachtfalke, classic Stormblast-era Dimmu, and Shadowthrone-era Satyricon should be setting their
sites on. Not to be missed!
WEB: www.myspace.com/trona1980
I ran across this band's debut Beowulf some years ago and really liked it. Despite that another BM
band about Beowulf should be so cliché as to become almost retro, I found it a fresh and engaging
album, bursting with talent and melodic flair. Thus I was more than happy to be offered their follow-
up, the long-awaited Dragon's Awakening.
Less abrasive and more melodic than Beowulf, Grendel's new album has managed the feat of taking
their style from that album and refining and polishing it to produce a more unified sound. This is still
aggressive Black Metal with a lot of energy and guitar-shredding ferocity, but they have managed to
fuse the melodic dash of the leadwork directly into the riffs, resulting in slashing barrages of tight and
complex, but still intensely melodic and hooky riffs. The guitar sound is less raw this time, but the keen
tone gives much more play to the melodic underpinnings and two-guitar interweavings of the riffwork.
There is always so much more going on in the music here than it seems at first spin. As before, vocals
alternate between harsh and clean. The harsh vocals are lower mixed and less venomous this time,
which integrates them into the whole more smoothly, and as before the trade-offs between the rasps
and cleanly-sung parts are very deft and serve a songwriting purpose, rather than seeming arbitrary
and forced.
This is reminiscent of a lot of underground Folk/Viking bands without sounding too much like any of
them. If I had to compare this band to anyone, it would be Berserk or a more aggressive Forefather,
maybe Suidakra, but that only scratches the surface, as Grendel are really doing their own thing and
doing it really well. This is a superior disc of melodic but still fierce Viking Metal that I cannot stop
spinning, because every time I hear something I didn't hear before. One of the year's best.
MetalCrypt.com - Sargon the Terrible
Grendel released an album back in 2005, and for five years I thought I’d never get to hear another
glorious release by these guys. Their hybrid of black and viking metal with touches of genuine
medieval charm was too good to be true, and the vocals by Sir Mordred were out of this world. The
riffs on the debut scorched the shit out of me with their serrated distortion while still being very
melodic and epic. Now five years later, Mordred isn’t in the band anymore (a band that he started),
yet the remaining members have carried on the name and recorded a follow-up that, while not like the
original, still manages to show the band’s development and wisdom. In short, I can say that this is a
pretty good sophomore effort.
Grendel’s first album, Beowulf, was a legitimate brand of viking / black metal thanks to Mordred’s
shredded shrieks and valiant cleans, the mix of buoyant epicness and diabolical riffs, and the
authentic atmosphere devoid of fakeness. This second one loses Mordred, and in the process
becomes more typical with standard black metal, but not without keeping much of the other
characteristics. After all, the two members present on this album played on the debut, but now
Chainerdog’s doing vocals and he’s alright. He does brutish, hoarse screams instead of shrieks and his
cleans are a little stale but stout; not many songs include the clean vocals.
Production is better than last time in that there’s more intensity and exertion. The debut was clean
and cool, but cold and a little empty between songs. This one’s warm, cozy, and full of livid riffs,
tunes, melodies, and a deeper theme of valor. The thickness of every instrument is one to behold,
and for two members it feels like a big endeavor putting all these songs together. The bass grumbles
fervently along the rhythm, and sometimes it sounds like a cavernous, electronic, pulsating boom like
on “Death Prophecy.” Drums are a bit clicky with the double bass, and you can’t escape it because it is
used a ton on this album. Much of the drumming is fast pummeling, blast beats, snare / cymbal
assaults, the works. The rest of the kit is nice and crisp though, so it doesn’t wear thin on me.
What keep the songs alive above all else are the riffs, as always with metal music worth more than a
dollar. With the debut, the riffs were upfront, in your face, and as deadly as a running chainsaw.
Here, the riffs are toned down but mature and with a purpose of layering as well as leading the
charge. The leads from Chainerdog do not let up at all, with the best material comprising the latter
half of the album. The tone of Dragon’s Awakening isn’t as fun-loving and ideal as the debut, so more
emotions run through this one realistically. The variety between songs is decent, but the middle of the
album isn’t particularly memorable. I know acoustics and clean sections pop up now and then, but
more songs mean more to work with, and I’m not getting enough from a couple of tracks like I do with
the beginning and end of the album (not including the ambient intro and outro tracks).
However, once this band does nail the right shit down, they do it so that no one else can contend.
The album starts off on a damn good note with “On The Throne,” but it can’t touch “Beowulf Funeral
Pyre.” This latter song was spoiled for the fans because the band featured it as a teaser ahead of the
album’s release, so we got to hear not only the best song on the album, but arguably Grendel’s best
song period. Everything from the (Hammerheart) Bathory-influenced opener, to the wave crushing
riffs, to the atmosphere, to Chainerdog’s nasty barks and somber clean cries, and to those solos…
god damn, the solo at the beginning and the solos closing… it’s the best this band has to offer.
Nothing can beat them, and they mark the highest points on the album with their alacrity and
harmonies.
This album, although closer to regular black metal, manages to stay fresh while in a genre that has a
good number of fusty bands to compete against. Chainerdog isn’t as competent of a vocalist as
Mordred, but he does a decent job maintain vocals to fit the music. Dragon’s Awakening sounds and
feels like a full album, while the debut, although magnificent, felt empty at the core. Overall, the
songs here may run together in the middle depending on how you hear things, while the debut didn’t
exactly have that issue, so it’s a split you’ll have to think about. That or you could just obtain both
albums and get the best of both worlds. The two don’t sound very alike, yet they carry the same fire
of Grendel. Man, if they had Mordred for this, it’d be one remarkable piece of art.
Metal-Archives.com - OzzyApu
Grendel continue their saga on Beowulf folklore, although their second album is not as focused on the
story as before. 'Dragon's Awakening' seems to be more the second half the story, for those who
know it, and how it terrorizes Beowulf's land until he slays it at the cost of his own life. As far as the
music goes to sing this tale, these two metal bards combine melodic black metal with folk elements for
a very chaotic, yet enjoyable ride. The opening and closing tracks are very epic and symphonic- about
as close as to folk as one could get. They are also the only real 'soft bits' on this album as mostly the
melodic black metal takes over, such as with "On The Throne." It's hard and fast, but very melodic,
with snarling vocals that range from Amon Amarth style to Keep of Kalessin. There isn't anything in
the way of keyboards, violins, or flutes as so many other folk metal bands use. As far as Grendel
goes, they tend to use clean vocals/ chorus (such as on "Sepulchral Treasures") and acoustic guitar
moments, either as introductions or interludes. For the most part, fans should expect quite a heavy
album.
The music style tends to lend more to tremolo pickings, such as with the title track, and how it all
seamless flows together rather than pausing between chugs as death metal would usually have. The
melodies are not always distinctly present, such as with this track, and more often than not fans may
consider this overtly black metal. However, when it comes to a track like "Beowulf Funeral Pyre" the
melodic moments, black metal, and folk elements play wonderfully off each other and leaves for a
very well designed track. Overall, the entire album is well balanced and not a let down for those who
were expecting 'Beowulf- part 2' from their previous efforts. Sure, there is so much of the story they
could have gone in depth with, but Grendel still have far to go, and plenty of folklore to explore and
bring to life with their crushing melodies.
Brutalism.com
band about Beowulf should be so cliché as to become almost retro, I found it a fresh and engaging
album, bursting with talent and melodic flair. Thus I was more than happy to be offered their follow-
up, the long-awaited Dragon's Awakening.
Less abrasive and more melodic than Beowulf, Grendel's new album has managed the feat of taking
their style from that album and refining and polishing it to produce a more unified sound. This is still
aggressive Black Metal with a lot of energy and guitar-shredding ferocity, but they have managed to
fuse the melodic dash of the leadwork directly into the riffs, resulting in slashing barrages of tight and
complex, but still intensely melodic and hooky riffs. The guitar sound is less raw this time, but the keen
tone gives much more play to the melodic underpinnings and two-guitar interweavings of the riffwork.
There is always so much more going on in the music here than it seems at first spin. As before, vocals
alternate between harsh and clean. The harsh vocals are lower mixed and less venomous this time,
which integrates them into the whole more smoothly, and as before the trade-offs between the rasps
and cleanly-sung parts are very deft and serve a songwriting purpose, rather than seeming arbitrary
and forced.
This is reminiscent of a lot of underground Folk/Viking bands without sounding too much like any of
them. If I had to compare this band to anyone, it would be Berserk or a more aggressive Forefather,
maybe Suidakra, but that only scratches the surface, as Grendel are really doing their own thing and
doing it really well. This is a superior disc of melodic but still fierce Viking Metal that I cannot stop
spinning, because every time I hear something I didn't hear before. One of the year's best.
MetalCrypt.com - Sargon the Terrible
Grendel released an album back in 2005, and for five years I thought I’d never get to hear another
glorious release by these guys. Their hybrid of black and viking metal with touches of genuine
medieval charm was too good to be true, and the vocals by Sir Mordred were out of this world. The
riffs on the debut scorched the shit out of me with their serrated distortion while still being very
melodic and epic. Now five years later, Mordred isn’t in the band anymore (a band that he started),
yet the remaining members have carried on the name and recorded a follow-up that, while not like the
original, still manages to show the band’s development and wisdom. In short, I can say that this is a
pretty good sophomore effort.
Grendel’s first album, Beowulf, was a legitimate brand of viking / black metal thanks to Mordred’s
shredded shrieks and valiant cleans, the mix of buoyant epicness and diabolical riffs, and the
authentic atmosphere devoid of fakeness. This second one loses Mordred, and in the process
becomes more typical with standard black metal, but not without keeping much of the other
characteristics. After all, the two members present on this album played on the debut, but now
Chainerdog’s doing vocals and he’s alright. He does brutish, hoarse screams instead of shrieks and his
cleans are a little stale but stout; not many songs include the clean vocals.
Production is better than last time in that there’s more intensity and exertion. The debut was clean
and cool, but cold and a little empty between songs. This one’s warm, cozy, and full of livid riffs,
tunes, melodies, and a deeper theme of valor. The thickness of every instrument is one to behold,
and for two members it feels like a big endeavor putting all these songs together. The bass grumbles
fervently along the rhythm, and sometimes it sounds like a cavernous, electronic, pulsating boom like
on “Death Prophecy.” Drums are a bit clicky with the double bass, and you can’t escape it because it is
used a ton on this album. Much of the drumming is fast pummeling, blast beats, snare / cymbal
assaults, the works. The rest of the kit is nice and crisp though, so it doesn’t wear thin on me.
What keep the songs alive above all else are the riffs, as always with metal music worth more than a
dollar. With the debut, the riffs were upfront, in your face, and as deadly as a running chainsaw.
Here, the riffs are toned down but mature and with a purpose of layering as well as leading the
charge. The leads from Chainerdog do not let up at all, with the best material comprising the latter
half of the album. The tone of Dragon’s Awakening isn’t as fun-loving and ideal as the debut, so more
emotions run through this one realistically. The variety between songs is decent, but the middle of the
album isn’t particularly memorable. I know acoustics and clean sections pop up now and then, but
more songs mean more to work with, and I’m not getting enough from a couple of tracks like I do with
the beginning and end of the album (not including the ambient intro and outro tracks).
However, once this band does nail the right shit down, they do it so that no one else can contend.
The album starts off on a damn good note with “On The Throne,” but it can’t touch “Beowulf Funeral
Pyre.” This latter song was spoiled for the fans because the band featured it as a teaser ahead of the
album’s release, so we got to hear not only the best song on the album, but arguably Grendel’s best
song period. Everything from the (Hammerheart) Bathory-influenced opener, to the wave crushing
riffs, to the atmosphere, to Chainerdog’s nasty barks and somber clean cries, and to those solos…
god damn, the solo at the beginning and the solos closing… it’s the best this band has to offer.
Nothing can beat them, and they mark the highest points on the album with their alacrity and
harmonies.
This album, although closer to regular black metal, manages to stay fresh while in a genre that has a
good number of fusty bands to compete against. Chainerdog isn’t as competent of a vocalist as
Mordred, but he does a decent job maintain vocals to fit the music. Dragon’s Awakening sounds and
feels like a full album, while the debut, although magnificent, felt empty at the core. Overall, the
songs here may run together in the middle depending on how you hear things, while the debut didn’t
exactly have that issue, so it’s a split you’ll have to think about. That or you could just obtain both
albums and get the best of both worlds. The two don’t sound very alike, yet they carry the same fire
of Grendel. Man, if they had Mordred for this, it’d be one remarkable piece of art.
Metal-Archives.com - OzzyApu
Grendel continue their saga on Beowulf folklore, although their second album is not as focused on the
story as before. 'Dragon's Awakening' seems to be more the second half the story, for those who
know it, and how it terrorizes Beowulf's land until he slays it at the cost of his own life. As far as the
music goes to sing this tale, these two metal bards combine melodic black metal with folk elements for
a very chaotic, yet enjoyable ride. The opening and closing tracks are very epic and symphonic- about
as close as to folk as one could get. They are also the only real 'soft bits' on this album as mostly the
melodic black metal takes over, such as with "On The Throne." It's hard and fast, but very melodic,
with snarling vocals that range from Amon Amarth style to Keep of Kalessin. There isn't anything in
the way of keyboards, violins, or flutes as so many other folk metal bands use. As far as Grendel
goes, they tend to use clean vocals/ chorus (such as on "Sepulchral Treasures") and acoustic guitar
moments, either as introductions or interludes. For the most part, fans should expect quite a heavy
album.
The music style tends to lend more to tremolo pickings, such as with the title track, and how it all
seamless flows together rather than pausing between chugs as death metal would usually have. The
melodies are not always distinctly present, such as with this track, and more often than not fans may
consider this overtly black metal. However, when it comes to a track like "Beowulf Funeral Pyre" the
melodic moments, black metal, and folk elements play wonderfully off each other and leaves for a
very well designed track. Overall, the entire album is well balanced and not a let down for those who
were expecting 'Beowulf- part 2' from their previous efforts. Sure, there is so much of the story they
could have gone in depth with, but Grendel still have far to go, and plenty of folklore to explore and
bring to life with their crushing melodies.
Brutalism.com
| GRENDEL - OTHER PRESS |
GRENDEL - INTERVIEW WITH VFTU eMAG
Read GRENDEL interview with Metal eMagazine
Voices From The Underground
Read GRENDEL interview with Metal eMagazine
Voices From The Underground
