It’s been just over two years since 2016’s sword songs an now Grand Magus have returned with their ninth, and quite possibly best, album to date. A thunderous, scene-chewing beast that is easily as savage as the titular animal it describes, Wolf God sees Grand Magus assaulting the senses with almost criminal ease, JB churning out riffs with such unhinged abandon that you’re left wondering whether the studio bar survived the band’s recording sessions.
A svelte intro, in the form of gold and glory, sets the tone for an album that feels more cinematic in scope than the band’s last offering. Almost Prokofiev-like in its evocation of whimsy (think Peter and the Wolf), gold and glory is the sort of introduction that Grand Magus deserve and when the band arrive, with the blood ‘n’ thunder of wolf god, their entrance is nothing short of spectacular. Based around a typically-rousing riff, wolf god is Grand Magus in excelsis, the production (handled by the band alongside Staffan Karlsson) sounding impossibly huge for a home recording, the riffs gleefully amped up to eleven. What continues to set Grand Magus apart from their peers, however, is JB, whose vocals seem to have only improved over the years. Rich in tone and imbued with an edge of menace, he prowls the stage with a menacing glare and his bravura performance here raises the hairs on the back of the neck. Ludwig kicks A hall clad in gold into gear with a battering attack that stuns the senses. By the time Fox’s overdriven bass arrives on the scene it’s too late – all around has already been laid waste – and the band stand amidst the chaos of their own making, churning out a melodic monster that might just be one of the finest compositions the band have yet laid down. A howl of feedback signals the opening of brother of the storm, a bluesy monster that sounds like Cream going head-to-head with Candlemass. It’s intensely thrilling and recaptures the lightening the band originally bottled on like the oar strikes the water. Finally slowing the pace (but just a touch), dawn of fire sees the band singing an epic sea shanty as they cross the oceans in the face of great hardship. It’s a fantastic piece of heavy metal theatre, bookended with the sound of oars hitting the water and spray battering the sails, and it allows a touch of breathing room after so thunderous a start.
With the listener’s equilibrium somewhat recovered, Grand Magus unleash Spear Thrower, a ferocious metal monster with hints of thrash in the tense riffing not to mention a melody to die for. However, it’s the lyrical flood of the lengthy to live and die in solitude which captures the imagination as the band hark back to the epic days of Candlemass’ debut with a track that is destined to be viewed as a metal classic in years to come. One of those tracks that seems to summon images in the very air in front of you, to live and die in solitude is simply perfect in every imaginable way and when it segues into the lengthy glory to the brave, our joy can hardly be contained. Having scaled glorious new heights with the preceding pair of tracks, Grand Magus tip a nod to the blues with the hard-driving he sent them all to hel, a track you could easily imagine Dio penning with Black Sabbath. The album comes to its suitably epic conclusion with untamed, one last blast of unhinged metal mastery. A sure-fire mosh-pit pleaser, it’s got a Motorhead-loving riff, a performance eon the drums that feels more suited to the climax of a Led Zeppelin show and ear-rupturing solos. It’s unfeasibly good and it cements the view that this is, in fact, the perfect Grand Magus album.
It’s difficult to pin down exactly why Wolf God is so damned good. It doesn’t particularly do anything that the other Grand Magus albums do not, but it somehow still manages to stand apart. Perhaps it’s the concise assault – ten songs, no fat – or the gloriously crisp production; but whatever the cause, Wolf God is a stunning album from start to finish. The musicianship remains outstanding, each member of the band turning in a blistering performance, while the song writing has hit new peaks – each track a memorable and sonically vast metal monster worthy of the bands that the band list as influences. If you love metal, you love wolf god, it’s that simple. Now go buy a copy. 9
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