Question: If a band is declared to have an exotic nature due to displaying their cultural heritage on their sleeve – can that band still be exotic for you if you come from that region? Answer: No! Follow-up-question: If the novelty act character is laid aside from you then, can that band still be regarded as glorious by yourself? YES! As long as a band is able to write great songs the novelty character might be less important (or non-existent) for people from that region but the music can still be utterly brilliant! Evidence: Gràb from Bavaria, the state I live in! Their new record Kremess is just that – brilliant!
Let’s get to it - “exoticism” is just an obsolete construct as is the notion of “You gotta listen to this band because they incorporate these folksy elements and sing in that language while playing that unusual instrument and try to remain anonymous!” With Gràb that becomes vividly clear to me so let’s show up why that is useless when trying to evaluate the quality of their music.
“They incorporate these folksy elements”, yes, they are trying to tell stories from their region or county, but hasn’t that already been done by pioneers like Enslaved or Borknagar? Have Winterfylleth and Arð not been talking about the history of Britain and especially Northumbria? Primordial surely have incorporated some Irish tales into their songs, Wayfarer are masters at telling stories from the Old Wild West in theirs. So must we congratulate Gràb on telling tales and stories from their home-state of Bavaria? We do not have to, but we can, because not a lot of bands have done that. Singing in their Bavarian dialect is also nothing new are Negură Bunget have done that before by using some Romanian phrases or lyrics in their tracks. And if we do not mention Ulver singing in Norse, one should not take us seriously. The incorporation of a language other than English or French is surely not an easy task because one might limit its audience and the question remains to what extent is audible anyway? Many people will notice that Gràb’s lyrics are not in English but only the ear accustomed to German will notice that it’s a particular dialect, in this case Bavarian. So, not an unusual or exotic thing at all. But are Gràb doing well at it? Surely they do, the tracks are using both things to the fullest!
Hammered Dulcimer is the instrument one might regard as unusual for a regular band-lineup, and on most tracks one can hear it, maybe not immediately, or did you notice that particular instrument at first listen, e.g. on ”Vom Grab im Moos”? Maybe you did, but it cannot be considered a “new, unique” instrument because Botanist have been using it for years now. What should be mentioned is the fact that Gràb use the dulcimer very cleverly in the idea of not pushing it too far center-stage but oftentimes use it as the basis for their songs. On ”Vom Grab im Moos” the flute played by Johanna Rehm is much more prominent but it makes totally sense to place that one centripetal to the whole soundscape as it’s the only time a flute is played on the record anyway. The hammered dulcimer is much more of a regular instrument on these tracks and embellishes the general soundscape while some other instruments (like the flute or the viola) are much more at the center of attention on their respective tracks.
The members of Gràb are not trying to remain anonymous, they just use stage names but one will easily find band photos online of both members of the band, Grànt and Gnàst are the primary members of the band but they are not opposed to bringing in many people, the new record, e.g. features seven guests whom many might know from their respective bands like Markus Stock (Empyrium) or Victor Bullok (Triptykon) – obviously well-chosen additions to create a dense soundscape and simultaneously also in order to present an international collective behind the songs. That Markus Stock also recorded and produced the record, might be an important bit of explanation for the majestic sound, that he and his team at Klangschmiede Studio E created before this mind-blowing record hits the shelves.
Now what did Gràb do differently? Well, they recorded a grandiose piece of Atmospheric Black Metal that tries to emulate times 200 years ago. They do not care about being a novelty act. They love working with people and they like to play Black Metal. No need for the obsolete “novelty act” sticker or for trying to make the record seem bigger – this record is a display of the duo’s talent and is so much fun that I would love to oblige them to work harder! I will surely play this majestic bit of music trying to emulate the Alpine regions. You do not live in Bavaria? Don’t mind you will most certainly be able to love this record as well because the songs are great and atmospherically dense – there is no need to label this record as “exotic metal”!
Here is the video for “Kerkermoasta” (“Dungeon Master”):
