BravePicks 2024 - GRAND MAGUS' Sunraven #8
December 23, 2024, 2 days ago
In 1994, BraveWords & Bloody Knuckles magazine was born and here we stand 30 years later celebrating the past 12 months of music on our anniversary! What an incredible ride it has been and it's far from over! And during the past three decades, we've literally seen/heard thousands of releases and this is the time of the season when we crown the finest! The BraveWords scribes have spoken, so join us each day this month as we count down to the BravePick of 2024!
Remember, everybody has an opinion and it’s time for ours! Stay tuned at the end of December for BraveWords' writers’ individual Top 20s (new studio albums ONLY), Top 5 Brave Embarrassments (a fan favorite!), What/Who Needs To Stop In 2024? and Metal Predictions For 2025.
BravePicks 2024
8) GRAND MAGUS - Sunraven (Nuclar Blast)
A Swedish maelstrom of doomy heavy metal! Grand Magus have been consistently churning out quality adventurous metal since their formation in ’99. The Swedes conjured up the power of Beowulf with their newest opus in 2024 and the result is Sunraven – 35 minutes of efficiently epic heavy metal – huge guitars, strong, hearty vocals, sustained choruses that makes for a galloping, memorable experience.
Grand Magus is one of the best acts going today that continues to fly under the radar. Sunraven bursts to the sky at #8.
Scribe Mark Gromen wrote in his review that the album “leaves the listener craving more.” An excerpt:
The music chugs along, at varying speeds, from trudge to full-out sprint, but always with that requisite, thundering heaviness. "Skybound" opener bounces and bristles with life, despite the subject matter (relating a flight to the after-life). A "welcome back" calling card moment. More metered and mid-tempo "The Wheel Of Pain" follows. First single/titular tune, "Sunraven" sticks to a similar pace, punishingly, yet melodically, working its way into your head. A recurrent guitar break, courtesy of Christoffersson, does the heavy work. Classic doom, mixed with traditional metal, such is the construct of "Winter Storms".
Acoustic guitar intro and a cappella vocals introduce "The Black Lake", which then locks into the classic Grand Magus fuzzy/reverb riffing. Foreboding effects and a crack of thunder greet "Hour Of The Wolf", a real speedster, full of energy. Add a "whoa whoa" sing-along chorus and you've got the making of a killer in-concert favorite!
The great heavyweights (Sabbath, Trouble, Candlemass, Cathedral, etc.) know that infusing a bit of spirit, a gallop here and there, adds an essential dynamic element, Riding the aforementioned coattails comes "Grendel", a stomping groove that belies the slower genre tags (mis)labeling the Magus. "To Herot" decelerates, back to familiar territory (big bluesy guitar), before gritty "The End Belongs To You" fittingly closes things out, with simple, repetitive, fist-thrusting lyrics that are destined for the live stage.
BravePicks 2024 Top 30
9) IOTUNN - Kinship (Metal Blade)
10) NILE - The Underworld Awaits Us All
11) EVERGREY - Theories Of Emptiness (Napalm)
12) THE CROWN - Crown Of Thorns (Metal Blade)
13) NECROPHOBIC - In The Twilight Grey (Century Media)
14) DJEVEL - Natt Til Ende (Aftermath)
15) INTRANCED - Muerte y Metal (High Roller)
16) KITTIE - Fire (Sumerian)
17) BLACKTOP MOJO - Pollen (Cuhmon Music Group)
19) RIOT V - Mean Streets
20) PORTRAIT - The Host
21) ROTTING CHRIST - Pro Xristou (Season Of Mist)
22)SAXON - Hell, Fire And Damnation (Silver Lining)
23) ULCERATE - Cutting The Throat Of God (Debemur Morti Productions)
24) POWERWOLF - Wake Up The Wicked (Napalm)
25) ENSIFERUM - Winter Storm (Metal Blade)
26) OPETH - The Last Will And Testament (Reigning Phoenix Music)
27) DARK TRANQUILLITY - Endtime Signals (Century Media)
28) MORGUL BLADE - Heavy Metal Wraiths (No Remorse)
29) THE DEAD DAISIES - Light 'Em Up (Independent)
30) MÖRK GRYNING - Fasornas Tid (Season Of Mist)
