Ten years after their second album, ‘Worship the Kraken’, the Russian Death/Doom metal five-piece Grond break their silence with their third full-length album, ‘The Temple’.
The intro, ‘Rotter Himmel’, already sounds promising; it gives away exactly what to expect, which is precisely what I like about such intros. As the first song, ‘Weddigen’, kicks in, it proves to be a perfect match of Death/Doom Metal. All nine tracks are well-done, offering a mixture of slow Doom and heavy, fast-paced sections.
The title track, ‘The Temple’, is melodic and yet so heavy, almost transporting you to another deep dimension where the howling abyss takes over. Furthermore, the vocals of frontman Kist sound as though they will tear your soul apart.
The artwork is awesome once again, crafted by their own bass player, Sergey Daemorph, who is responsible for all of their visual work. It is, again, heavily based on Lovecraftian imagery and WWII themes. If you like the Dutch band Graceless, then you will definitely like Grond.
Overall, this is a great album, though the rhythm guitars could have been a bit better in the mix, as they sound a little distant at times in my opinion. Nonetheless, this is an easy buy for every Death/Doom fan!
