Skyforger is album number ten from the Swedish power trio known as Grand Magus, and it comes three years after their solid if unspectacular Wolf God. While often tagged as a doom or stoner band (which, was more indicative of their earlier sound), Grand Magus have been fairly consistent over their career at creating epic metal sounds that appear bigger than what you'd expect from a trio. That trio of course is Janne 'JB' Christoffersson (lead vocals, guitar), Mats 'Fox' Skinner (bass, backing vocals), and Ludwig 'Ludde' Witt (drums), all three making up the most stable line-up of the band, now strong since 2012. Unlike Wolf God, which sounded hastily patched together, Sunraven contains one memorable metal anthem after another, starting off with arguably its strongest track, "Skybound", a song with a behemoth riff, catchy chorus, and loads of groove. "The Wheel of Pain" and the title track are also excellent examples of mid-paced epic metal, while "Winter Storms" ups the emotional factor but still allows for plenty of fist-pumping, sing-along action for any participating Viking. "The Black Lake" features a belter of a riff from JB...let's face it, this guy is a killer guitar player, as well as a singer, and he also shines in the galloping "Hour of the Wolf". One of the highlights of the back end of the album is "Grendel", a steamroller of fast-paced doom/stoner metal, the riff over the chorus is a thing of beauty, and closer "The End Belongs to You" is a relentless crusher, but still containing all the melodic elements that make this band's music so memorable.
It seems forever ago since Grand Magus' breakthrough album Hammer of the North (14 years to be exact), and one could argue that they haven't quite topped that record, but Sunraven is easily one of the strongest releases from them since that early gem in what is overall a very enjoyable catalog.
Track Listing
1.
Skybound 03:28
2.
The Wheel of Pain 03:23
3.
Sunraven 03:37
4.
Winter Storms 05:15
5.
The Black Lake 05:33
6.
Hour of the Wolf 04:02
7.
Grendel 03:31
8.
To Heoret 03:00
9.
The End Belongs to You 03:21
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