Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2016 9:05:30 GMT -6
GRIM - Scepter of Blood
Year: 1999
Genre: Black/Death Metal
Scepter of Blood was the first major CBM release from the United States, and it still fascinates me to this day. Perhaps it has something to do with just how different it is from Thomas' more recent music (and by "more recent", I mean pretty much anything else that came after it). This is low-production, primitive black/death metal with very basic riffs compared to what Thomas can do now. Yet still, I find this extremely enjoyable. There's something so dark about it, a kind of feeling that I've felt few other bands create. I guess it's kinda created by the atmosphere that comes from the interlude tracks ("Remorse", "Writhe", "From Within", and "Nocturne") and also the slow, doomy title track, but I think the production is the most major factor. This is very low production, but it's mixed well enough that you can hear everything.
Digging into the music, you'll find that the composition is incredibly simple compared to Ankou Awaits and Orationem. This is to be expected, considering the amount of time that passed between GRIM and those two projects. Usually there is only one or two guitar lines going at once, but it's usually enough to keep my attention. The single guitar sections still leave me craving a lot more. Many of the riffs are non-tremolo and some of them are quite catchy (check out the last few minutes of "Exaltation" for my favorite catchy riff in the album). Most of the tremolo riffs are in "What a Terrible Night to Have a Curse". "Exaltation" also features some very grindy-sounding riffs at the beginning which remind me a lot of Akryal. Those grindy riffs show up briefly again in "Necrosis". The riffs in the acoustic interludes are very good, especially in "Writhe". The guitars are in general very good, despite how basic they can be sometimes. Some of the riffs were used a few too many times for my liking though.
The drumming is very basic just by my general standards, but if you compare it to Thomas' recent work, it becomes even more simple-sounding. If I recall correctly (and I could be very wrong about this), Thomas didn't use a real drumset in the creation of Scepter of Blood, and it shows. It's nothing remotely album-ruining, but it is certainly a major flaw. The vocals are fantastic though, and I actually like them more than the vocals of Orationem. They feel more powerful and more forced. The spoken vocals in the title track are pretty cheesy though and could have been a lot better. Honestly, the title track in general could have been way better. I like it a lot, and as cool as that keyboard riff is, it is very repetitive. It just plays over and over again, and the song doesn't really change a whole lot until about five minutes in. Still a good song, but if it were shorter or had more variety, it would have been a lot better. I also don't like how the guitars drop out during the spoken vocal sections in the verses.
This is a dark, fun, and enjoyable piece of early CBM that led the way for other American bands. I like it, despite its simplicity.
78/100
-CrimsonWarrior
Buy the re-release from No Sleep Till Megiddo:
nosleeptillmegiddo.storenvy.com/products/7671795-grim-scepter-of-blood
Year: 1999
Genre: Black/Death Metal
Scepter of Blood was the first major CBM release from the United States, and it still fascinates me to this day. Perhaps it has something to do with just how different it is from Thomas' more recent music (and by "more recent", I mean pretty much anything else that came after it). This is low-production, primitive black/death metal with very basic riffs compared to what Thomas can do now. Yet still, I find this extremely enjoyable. There's something so dark about it, a kind of feeling that I've felt few other bands create. I guess it's kinda created by the atmosphere that comes from the interlude tracks ("Remorse", "Writhe", "From Within", and "Nocturne") and also the slow, doomy title track, but I think the production is the most major factor. This is very low production, but it's mixed well enough that you can hear everything.
Digging into the music, you'll find that the composition is incredibly simple compared to Ankou Awaits and Orationem. This is to be expected, considering the amount of time that passed between GRIM and those two projects. Usually there is only one or two guitar lines going at once, but it's usually enough to keep my attention. The single guitar sections still leave me craving a lot more. Many of the riffs are non-tremolo and some of them are quite catchy (check out the last few minutes of "Exaltation" for my favorite catchy riff in the album). Most of the tremolo riffs are in "What a Terrible Night to Have a Curse". "Exaltation" also features some very grindy-sounding riffs at the beginning which remind me a lot of Akryal. Those grindy riffs show up briefly again in "Necrosis". The riffs in the acoustic interludes are very good, especially in "Writhe". The guitars are in general very good, despite how basic they can be sometimes. Some of the riffs were used a few too many times for my liking though.
The drumming is very basic just by my general standards, but if you compare it to Thomas' recent work, it becomes even more simple-sounding. If I recall correctly (and I could be very wrong about this), Thomas didn't use a real drumset in the creation of Scepter of Blood, and it shows. It's nothing remotely album-ruining, but it is certainly a major flaw. The vocals are fantastic though, and I actually like them more than the vocals of Orationem. They feel more powerful and more forced. The spoken vocals in the title track are pretty cheesy though and could have been a lot better. Honestly, the title track in general could have been way better. I like it a lot, and as cool as that keyboard riff is, it is very repetitive. It just plays over and over again, and the song doesn't really change a whole lot until about five minutes in. Still a good song, but if it were shorter or had more variety, it would have been a lot better. I also don't like how the guitars drop out during the spoken vocal sections in the verses.
This is a dark, fun, and enjoyable piece of early CBM that led the way for other American bands. I like it, despite its simplicity.
78/100
-CrimsonWarrior
Buy the re-release from No Sleep Till Megiddo:
nosleeptillmegiddo.storenvy.com/products/7671795-grim-scepter-of-blood