Grand Magus - Iron Will 5/5

01. Like the Ore Strikes the Water 3:13 02. Fear is the Key 3:31 03. Hovding 0:39 04. Iron Will 5:01 05. Silver Into Steel 4:15 06. The Shadow Knows 5:35 07. Self Deceiver 4:49 08. Beyond Good & Evil 5:15 09. I Am the North 9:01

Grand Magus are a bit of an enigma. They’re not particularly Big, in any sense of the word; the Swedish three-piece are probably best known for the fact that frontman Janne “JB” Christoffersson sings in Spiritual Beggars with Michael Amott of Carcass and Arch Enemy. This lack of recognition clashes with the fact that they’re fucking brilliant; more on that later. Anyway, since being established in 2001 on a split 7” with, you guessed it, Spiritual Beggars, Grand Magus have released four slabs of uncompromising, balls-out heavy metal, the latest being 2008’s “Iron Will”. The title alludes to steely determination, dedication and spirit, in case you’re wondering. Not a massive boner. Metal Hammer famously raised this point with JB in an interview, to which he replied that “you should always have an erection while playing metal”. Which says a lot about Grand Magus’ music, really.

Now, generally at this point in a review, I’d be picking out tracks from the album, maybe analysing bits of them, discussing their relative merits. However, with Iron Will, there’s not actually that much point. All of the songs are pretty much the same, both in spirit and execution - and they’re all bloody fantastic.

I’m not even exaggerating. Every single song has an enormous riff, something which you could unashamedly air-guitar to under literally any circumstance. You could start rocking out during your mother-in-law’s funeral, and not feel bad about it, with riffs this good. And it’s not as if they’re complex; you could probably pick out the power-chords with a single finger. It’s uncomplicated, simple…and perfect. The same goes for the drums, supplied on this album by the mysteriously-monikered ‘SEB‘; no frills, no bullshit, just the job done, and solidly so. JB’s vocals follow the same kind of path; he hits all of the high notes, carrying the melody during verses basically entirely with his voice, and yet doesn’t fanny around in the slightest. Take any song from the album and the formula is the same; great riff, solid drumming, soaring vocals and kick-ass solo. For that reason there’s no reason really to single any one song out - they’re just all slightly different flavours of Awesome.

The only place where any indulgence has been allowed is in the production booth. There are various overdubs on the guitars and vocals, which serves to put meat on the album’s bones, make it a bit more robust. So for once, I have absolutely no complaints about the production at all. Don’t go getting used to that.

The only possible complaint you could possibly unearth about Iron Will is that it could be perceived to lack originality. It is true that there’s nothing here that you haven’t heard on any other metal album - it’s just the way that Grand Magus bring it all together, everything which is bloody great about metal. Guitars, bass, drums, and vocals; no bollocks, no messing around, just a straight-up, balls-out, no-nonsense tribute to all things metal. It’s almost joyous in its execution; I challenge any fan of metal to listen to it and NOT bang their head, throw up the horns, and even maybe noodle a little air guitar. It comes with my very, very highest recommendation.

Iron Will is available to buy or download at play.com

Genre : Heavy Metal, Doom / Stoner Metal

Article by Phil Sim