It’s funny I hadn’t thought about Grand Magus that much since their tour with Amon Amarth, At the Gates, and Arch Enemy a few years ago. I thought the band was dead and gone but here is the new album ”Sunraven”. It is the first album for the Swedes since ‘‘Wolf God‘’ back in 2019.

The Heavy/Doom pioneers are back literally from obscurity with this new album that clocks at only 35 minutes. I know that most of their last efforts are not too long, straight to the point and concise but in all honesty, I would have enjoyed a longer album. You really get invested in the album quickly and then it’s finished before you know it with the appropriately titled ‘’The End Belongs to You’’.

I would usually tend to criticize an album for the fact that there is not a certain homogeneity but for Grand Magus we would say that it is appropriate. Each song has its theme, its style and there are always elements that we find from one song to another but each song tells its own story.

One thing I really noticed throughout the album was big Blues influences. I know we see it quite often in Stoner/Doom bands, even Black Sabbath have said that they were a lot influenced by the style from their eponymous album in 1970. I feel this same essence everywhere through this new opus.

It’s certain that there are a lot of styles that are similar to many of the songs throughout the album and the influences are really very varied. The first song of the album ”Skybound” could have been part of ”King Animal” by Soundgarden. It reminded me so much of this magnificent latest album from the Seattle Legends.

”Grendel” and ”To Heorot” remind me of the repertoire of Amon Amarth, a little slower than the latest material from the Viking Metal legends but with a voice as powerful as that of J.B. Christofferson. It sounds like a mix of William Duvall from Alice in Chains mixed with the clean voice of Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth but even deeper. His voice commands respect and attention and it’s rare that I say that about a group but you’re like in a trance when you hear his voice, it’s really impressive.

What can we say about the title song, there is a certain direct influence from ”Queens of the Stone Age”, that is very apparent. it’s funny because ultimately Grand Magus was an influence on QOTSA so it’s cyclical.

We also have the song ”Hour of the Wolf”, the cadence and rhythm of the song is reminiscent of old Judas Priest, it’s very fast, very NWOBHM but obviously you don’t have Rob Halford’s high voice and instead you have a singer with a very gravely voice but it makes a really impressive and original mix.

It remains a very accessible album, a little more accessible than their previous albums and I think it can reach a larger audience down the line. I’m curious if they’re going to do another tour because it’s not too well known here in North America but they are revered in Europe. With touring costs continuing to increase, I think they will continue to tour there and that’s a shame because it’s a really good album.

As I said before it remains too short an album for my tastes, I was expecting something much longer, especially for the Doom/Stoner style but I imagine it remains concise and in your face. The production is uneven, maybe it’s on purpose especially since it’s something we often see in the genre, you have the impression that the voice is not recorded loud enough or the bass is recorded too loud but these are still small details, not something that harms the quality of the work. A quality effort from an often forgotten band that has influenced a generation of bands all over the world.