Katabasis into the Abaton

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Format : LP - Black Vinyl
Condition : New
Released : 2024
Genre : Prog Rock
  • EUR

    31.90

 
 
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Limited edition in Black Vinyl

Grendel’s Sÿster formed in loose association around the start of 2015 with much of the original lineup having met and made friends at a folk music festival, eventually finding their collective joy when jamming together on holiday. The core trio that’d presented on their first couple of EP recordings fell into place around 2017 when their original vocalist had to bow out and Caro took over, her voice being a natural compliment to the vision of guitarist Tobi and drummer Till. The impression that I get from interviews and the music itself is that their default setting is more sentient, thoughtful and clever than the average metal goon crew having some clear sense of self built around a love for Scandinavian folk spiritus, the emerging German nodules of 70’s revisionist folk rock, and a spectrum of music where meaning and performance receive far more thought. Though the cadence was a bit sluggish and thusly related to their version of early 80’s heavy metal’s epic stroll one could pick up on the care and conviction put into their first single as well as their debut EP (‘Orphic Gold Leaves / Orphische Goldbl​ä​ttchen‘, 2018). By the time I’d discovered the band’s work they’d been on the cusp of releasing their second EP (‘Myrtle Wreath / Myrtenkranz‘, 2019) a release which’d included old German folk standards, references to ancient mythos (be it Vedic texts or Tolkien) and Jungian psychology and sometimes all feeding into one song. It’d been charming on introduction, a bit maddening when left on repeat too many times, and overall an original heavy metal adjacent idea that’d been refined to a decent standard. While I believe they’d found their general knack for structure, use of repetition and patiently constructed pieces the real boon felt in the step to a full-length album is pacing. Not only does ‘Katabasis into the Abaton‘ arrive with a bit more gusto, the actual tempo increasing across the board to a hearty epic heavy metal shuffle but the reveal from song-to-song flows with its own sense of immediacy as we stride through its ~40 minute stretch. After having spent so much time wearing out their prior release in the process of review my biggest point of concern was whether or not Grendel’s Sÿster‘s sound and approach could hold up across a full-length span of time.

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