GRYMHEART
GRYMHEART "Hellish Hunt"
By Dr. Abner Mality
Sorry I'm getting to this so late. I probably made the mistake of thinking this was just another Scarlet Records overstuffed sympho-metal act. Well GRYMHEART should definitely appeal to fans of European power metal, but this is a lot faster and grittier than I figured. And much of it is also irresistibly catchy. Only a grumpy old bridge troll would sneer at this.
It's a bracing mixture of speed-oriented power metal, folk metal and even a touch of death and black metal. This last quality is most evident in the gravelly vocals, which are fairly harsh throughout. As for the music, somehow these guys have the knack of just grabbing you with simple, medieval melodies. First proper song "Hellbent Horde" is scorchingly fast and heavy, with just enough synth to enhance the melodies a bit. "Ignis Fatuus" is still fast and crunchy, but leans much more into a singalong chorus that wouldn't be out of place on a pirate metal album. The first four tracks (not counting a brief intro) are almost perfect dark power metal with folkish leanings.
"Army of the Graves" slows things down and this doesn't work quite as well for the band, being a pretty average tack. "Everlost" and "Facing The Kraken" bring the speed back but the songs seem a bit more "typical" although still enjoyable. The obligatory epic "Monsters Among Us" ends the album with more symphonic pomp and a bigger keyboard sound.
All in all, a fun album for more than just power metal aficionados.