Release
date: October 18th 2019. Label: APF
Records.
Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
The
Grand Mal – S/T –
Tracklisting
1.Explode
03:24
2.No
Man's Land 04:06
3.Burning
Truth 05:46
4.Synapse
Transmission 04:33
5.Liquid
& Dust 04:19
6.Glitch
02:09
7.Pig
In The Python 06:00
8.Eschaton
05:11
9.Black
Spiral 07:00
10.Significant
08:12
Members
Dave-O:
vocals
Ryan
Cole - guitar
Elliot
Cole - drums
Rob
Glen - bass
Review
The
Grand Mal is the joining together of two of the most powerful and
creative forces from Oxford with members of My Diablo and Desert
Storm forming the hard-hitting entity as the The Grand Mal.
Their
debut album is quite different to the members other bands with The
Grand Mal focusing more on Grunge, Psych, Desert Rock and Stoner
Metal. Not that Desert Storm or My Diablo didn’t play that style of
music within their own individual releases. This album feels
influenced by Stoner Metal godfathers – KYUSS and KARMA TO BURN. As
the heavy riffs echo the legendary sound of the Californian Desert
but with a more focused sound that has elements of Led Zep, Black
Sabbath and Alice In Chains.
The
album contains epic riffs from the start and centres around an epic
vocal performance from Dave-O who has never sounded better on this
album. Dave-O perfectly captures the Stoner Rock/Metal intensity the
album requires with hints of Grunge appearing here and there.
Dave-O
is a drummer by trade which he’s performed with his other bands
such as Mother Corona and My Diablo. However, the drumming is handled
by Desert Storm’s Elliot Cole and he makes his presence felt on the
majority of the tracks. I’m a huge admirer of Desert Storm and it’s
good to see Elliot’s brother Ryan handles guitar duties and you can
feel and hear his trademark riffs.
Bass
duties is handled by Rob Glen and he brings an addictive rhythm to
The Grand Mal and allows everyone to do their own thing on this
album.
The
songs are excellent throughout with the band treating the listener to
10 songs and almost 53 minutes of fast-paced Stoner Metal/Desert Rock
sounds. The standout songs have to be: Explode, No Man’s Land,
Synapse Transmission, Pig In The Python, Black Spiral and
Significant. As these are the songs where The Grand Mal are bang on
point with almost everything. Fantastic sounding riffs, superb vocals
and lyrics all combine for a powerhouse album that will have you
headbanging in agreement.
The
production is top-notch with the album being very clear and fresh
from the start. The Grand Mal have a heavy thunderous presence and
that’s down to the fantastic production. If you miss the days of
90s sounding Grunge. Desert Rock and Stoner Metal then look no
further as The Grand Mal have you covered on all fronts.
This
is an excellent debut album that the band should rightly be proud of.
Listen
to this album now. You won’t be sorry….
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Richard at Sheltered Life PR for the promo. The Grand Mal debut
album is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via APF Records.
Links:
