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Grand Magus: Sword Songs

Traditional Heavy Metal

4.5/5.0

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Nuclear Blast Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 27.04.2016

For traditional "keep it true" heavy metal for the new century, it's hard to beat Sweden's Grand Magus. They've put out a string of consistent classic heavy metal albums for the last ten years and more. Their eighth and latest album Sword Songs is no exception. The denim clad trio has another winner on their hands.

Grand Magus

You can probably figure out from the album title that there's a theme here. Sword, battles, warfare. How heavy metal is that? Of course, there's the usual musical suspects. Heavy riffs of guitar harmony, gang vocals, and the thundering groove of the rhythm section. A song can thump with foreboding heaviness as with Master Of The Land, or take a brisk pace with Last One To Fall or Forged In Iron, Crowned In Steel, a song with a pleasant acoustic start. An interesting acoustic instrumental comes with Hugr, possibly a reference to the Old Norse term for thought or mind. It leads into something familiar to Grand Magus fans, an epic metal anthem. Every Day There's A Battle To Fight chugs along building momentum before rising to an equally epic guitar solo. Hey metalheads, traditional metalheads that is, it's all good. Sword Songs is the Grand Magus you know and love. So take up your denim vest laced with your favorite band patches and pins and strap on your bullet belt. You'll want to get this album.

Grand Magus - Varangian

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Hey metalheads, traditional metalheads that is, it's all good. Sword Songs is the Grand Magus you know and love. So take up your denim vest laced with your favorite band patches and pins and strap on your bullet belt. You'll want to get this album.

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The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]