See You On The Other Side

Grusom ~ Grusom (2015)

 I discovered Denmark's Grusom early this year with their "DIY Demo", and even though the production on there is a little rough, it made a big impression and got more than a few listens. I wasn't the only one though, about a month after the demo's release the always excellent Kozmik Artifactz signed the band to put out their first album. This debut full length from them made an even bigger impression on me though, taking all the great ideas and songs from the demo, building on them and adding more tracks in the studio to drop one of the best albums this year. With swinging guitar and keyboard rhythms, it brings to mind The Doors from the very beginning of things, but they go even darker and heavier. Like if Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek decided to join Black Sabbath instead of starting their own band. Once things get started the swinging keyboard rhythms make every song jump out, and the dual guitars can go from mellow into a headbanging riff at the drop of a hat, keeping the listener on their toes from track to track. In addition to that, the singer's raw, melodic wailing on top of the music will draw you in if nothing else does. With nine songs that can stand on their own from top to bottom, it's almost impossible to pick a favorite. Some rank a little higher than others, but they're all so damn good. I will say that the first single "The Journey", and the preceding track on the album "Cold Stone" did get quite a bit of repeat play. The two flow so well together, it could almost be one epic song. Like a river, the whole thing ebbs and flows, with calm sections broken up by rolling rapids that make toes tap and heads bang. If you like your heavy rock bluesy, grim, and not just like anything else, this is the band for you. If you like heavy rock, this is the band for you. If you simply like music, this is the band for you. All you fine folks can really hear right now is the single, but pre-orders start July 5th at the Kozmik Artifactz store for the July 31st release date. This is one of those records that is not to be missed this year.
~Skip

For Fans Of; Dax Riggs, Groggy, Danzig, Lucifer, Orchid

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A Dusky Patchwork...

GRUSOM - DIY DEMO (2014)

Another one of Denmark's numerous quality stoner rock outfits, GRUSOM have stepped out onto the international scene with their new demo, featuring three tracks with fittingly macabre flavors.  The first of these tracks is "Evil", a bluesy gothic crooner which builds to a slow burn of keyboards and guitar over slow-thumping drums as vocalist Nicolaj Hoffmann Jul pushes through the gloom.  After that, it's on into "Gruesome", which holds onto the blues and doom, but ramps up the energy of the instruments a bit, pulling the guitar to new spidery heights, raising the keyboard to match, trading off between the two, then drawing them together for a big crash of chords before sinking back into slower sadness.  For the end comes "Reaper", which uses a surprisingly bouncy main riff (lightened by the keyboards again) to pull things to a close with lyrics telling of rising from flames.
For a demo, it's nice and compact, it shows off the band's skills, and offers a taste of things to come while being a toothsome chunk in its own right.  For fans of doom blues, it'll be well worth keeping an ear to the ground for more developments from GRUSOM, as they seem to have lit a fire beneath their own feet.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Danzig, TK Bollinger & That Sinking Feeling, Dax Riggs, Groggy, Jak Locke

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GRUSOM - Evil (320 kbps)

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