This album is massive and expansive, as the music sweeps through eighty minutes of highly addictive melodic themes composed by a trio of talented musicians.
Through six successful albums, the unusual instrumental setup for a Metal-related group has proven immensely effective. With heavy riffs, diverse and resolute drumming, a melodic cello at the center, and eclectic vocals, Grayceon has made a significant impact on the scene. And with the band´s seventh release, they might have reached the pinnacle of their career. But hey, with these three creative musicians, nobody knows what the future will hold for them in terms of finding even new outlets for their musical ideas.
After seven months in the studio, and probably a couple of more years composing and rehearsing, Grayceon releases the album, gracing us with eleven songs on the long album. Eighty minutes seems a bit overwhelming at first listen because you do not manage to grasp the magnitude of the music at once. But as you go through repeated spins, you slowly slide into the music as the whole album´s extensive music grows on you and embraces you. To put it mildly, this is a cornucopia of Progressive Metal, even if labeling them in that genre is a bit narrow. The music defies any genre description. Grayceon has, through their records, become their own genre as they bravely pave their own way into the metal-related music sphere.
Giving a review of this musical wonder will not do it justice (probably should do my doctoral thesis on it). That said, I will give it a go, hoping that some readers will discover its visionary greatness. The music on this album is somberer than on the other albums (a clue is there in the title). That is due to the heavy and diverse riffage, the use of bass and floor drums, and, of course, the low-end cello tangled with the guitar. And to top it off, the passionate manifold vocals by the female cellist. Yes, she handles both the cello and the vocals.
The album’s opening track, ”Thousand Year Storm” has the sense of an overture as it seems to contain all the musical elements that will make up the other tracks on the album. It opens with throbbing sounds and a strumming guitar with timbres from the cello. Then the drums hammer fiercely, and hoarse screaming vocals erupt with dense and heavy guitar. The riffing is varied, driven forward by powerful drumming, which pushes the cello and screaming vocals. Before the latter change to angelic vocalizing, they soar above the music, only to return to screaming vocals. It is utterly engaging with shifts and turns, sometimes hard-hitting, other times fleeting, with the angelic harmonies. The guitar shifts into clean tones with a hint of Eastern sonics (pointing toward the song ”Masha”) as the timbre of the cello elegantly moves the melodic theme forward in parallel with the clean guitar, while the drums playfully keep the pace intact. However, a sudden repetition of the heavy parts from the start ends the first track.
Thus, this first track gives you an impression of what to expect as they further develop the music throughout the album. And not one song disappoints in the following 75 minutes. One should think there are “fillers” when an album lasts so long. But no. Every song is carefully crafted and composed, fitting the instruments and vocals together as a whole. The second song, ”One Third” is heavy and tough with firm, clear vocals. Then follows ”Velvet ‘79” that has a sense of flowing and swaying, helped by both the vocals and the cello. Before we come to what will be considered as the main track of the album, we get treated to ”Points of Light” with opening riffs, engaging rhythm, and a cello that falls in, forming the melodic theme, keeping the pace with the snare drum and bass drum. Strong vocals emerge as you sing along with the theme. The cello keeps repeating the elongated melodic theme when the vocals disappear, and upon return, the rhythm intensifies.
And then comes the twenty-minute-long emotional track ”Masha”. It is dedicated to Mahsa Amini (1999–2022), the Kurdish-Iranian woman who died under unclear circumstances when she was arrested by Iran’s morality police. If it hasn´t struck you before, this track will: The vocals in the way it expresses the emotional storylines of this song and others are very powerful. But also, how the cello and the guitar work together, accompanied by the drums to form a lengthy song without any tone being out of place. It is wavey, surging, delicate, hard, and everything in between. Just this song is a tour de force.
And after this dramatic track, where the lines ”When you find me you’ll know I am the sun / When you find me” are repeated in different modes, the track ”Then The Darkness” emerges as an instrumental reflection on the previous, a lament – an eulogy, as it has delicate movements and surges. The album continues, and the band has another long track up their sleeves, the twelve-minute-long ”Forever Teeth”. A song with delicate moments, fierce screams, heavy surges, and extremely strong vocals. Additionally, here, they manage to compose a varied song that captures the listener.
But the music is far from over as the album continues with ”Song Of The Snake” that opens with clear guitar and emotional strokes on the cello and tom-toms rolling in the background. Then it surges to a heavy and dense song with windy vocalizing. It is fiercely fast-paced with relentless drumming, riffage, and cello strokes pushing the vocals that grow strong, singing ”Sing to me with angel’s breath / A symphony of harmonies”. And that is just what she does when she sings. ”Holding Lines” proves again that Grayceon is no stranger to massive sonics as the cello and guitars are tangled in the melodic lines with relentless drumming driving it forward to support the solid vocals.
”(Untitled)” could easily be called Lullaby, because that’s what it is. A lullaby contrasting the previous track with strumming guitar, long cello takes, and careful drumming with soft, caring vocals. A surge lifts the melody in distorted sonics before it once more repeats the idly opening minutes. The album ends aptly with ”Come To The End” with the riffing guitar tangled with the cello and hard rhythms form a melody for the vocals to sing until the last line sung ”Can we reach a point where everyone’s lives mean something / As above / So Below”.
