Review Summary: "GIMMIE MORE""
Melodic death metal this year hasn't impressed me so much. I have days where I want to look back at the golden era of melodic death metal and relisten and just stay there. I can't stay there forever and time passes by. Luckily for us, listeners, Admire the Grim is here to change that. I was searching through Bandcamp and I found the EP "Rogue Five". The EP is less than 20 mins so if they want to impress they have to do it quick and boy do they do so.
I was hooked by the first riff on the song " The Flood" which reminded me of a riff I would hear off a Children of Bodom song. Powerful and flashy and yet colorful to the ear. When the vocals came in it reminded me of an old-school death metal vibe and a late Angela Glassow Arch Enemy vibe and then switches to more of a power metal style of vocals which is a great balance due to how much the vocals in this genre could come off a one dimensional. The next song " Mad Queen of the Second Sun" definitely has a darker tone which gave me "Wages of Sin" era vibes with a thicker bass tone and heavier riffs to compensate to match the vocal performance. This is an excellent song and my god blast this if you can.
The self-titled song " Admire The Grim" starts with more of a power metal vibe this track shows more of the vocal range of Katri Snellman and it is very enjoyable and allows us to focus on her chops. This song's solo is tasty and ends with a "Pantera" vibe.
The final song "Rogue Five" brings the trash and melodic death vibes to the crescendo. The gang vocals and guitar riffing are solid with plenty of headbanging moments to accompany the song. Admire the Grim showcases their potential and influences without overshadowing what they have to offer. This is a band that has promise and it's a shame EP is short, this makes me want more.
