Review Summary: The Hunt is the type of album that reminds us why we love this genre of music so much.
Grand Magus are what heavy metal is all about, their use of catchy, melodic vocals and powerful guitar riffs produce the same sort of magic that attracted the masses to bands like Judas Priest when their career started to kick off. Grand Magus’ last album was the fantastic Hammer Of The North, that album really started to show was a force Grand Magus was becoming, and their latest album, The Hunt, really proves to us that Grand Magus are a serious forced to be reckoned with.
Grand Magus constantly show their metal influences, there are moments where The Hunt is reminiscent of doom metal, though it’s the influence of bands coming from The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal that really shine. It’s the powerful, booming vocals of Janne Christofferson are reminiscent of Judas Priest and even Iron Maiden, while Ludwig Witt’s drumming follows the same beats and rhythms that we would hear from a band like Motörhead, and when you include bassist Fox, it’s staggering to think that just three men can produce music that sounds as powerful as it does.
Grand Magus’ lyrics department mainly seem to come from classic, fantasy tales. Sword Of The Ocean and Valhalla Rising are the type of songs that Viking Metal band Turisas would write. Storm King and Iron Hand are two more of those warrior/medieval songs that almost tell a tale. If there’s one thing serious nit-picks will pull out of the album, it’s the fact that Grand Magus hardly deviate from their sound. But there’s that old age rule of “If it ‘ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. For now, Grand Magus’ music still sounds fresh and doesn’t need to deviate from it’s traditional path.
Starlight Slaughter may sound like 80% of other Grand Magus’ songs, but it still sounds awesome, so there’s a lack of complaints around that. There’s a reason Grand Magus’ music still sounds great, it’s because it’s true, classic Heavy Metal. The Hunt features loud choruses that make you want to raise your fist and shout along, and there’s no lack of guitar solos. Grand Magus’ latest album, The Hunt, is the type of album that reminds us why we love this genre of music so much.
9/10.
