Release Date: 16th February 2024. Record Label: The Lasting Dost Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Hush - Tracklisting
1.Hush
2.Calice
3.Gatekeeper
4.Midnight Blue Sorrow
5.Talons
6.Portal
7.Neon Skies
8.Vortex
9.Silver
10.Pyramid
11.Deathbringers
12.Nothingness
13.Venom
14.Eyes Like Daggers
15.The Tempest of Time
16.Torre del Serpe
Members
Jan Oberg
Sabine Oberg
Review
Psych Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal riffsters GRIN return with their fourth full length album Hush with the band employing a more expansive Sonic journey compared to their previous records. Hush runs for around forty minutes across sixteen tracks with GRIN never going past the four minute mark and some of the tracks lasting under two minutes. However, it's what GRIN deliver within the tracks themselves that allow this album to be a real turning point for the band moving forward. The guitars are constantly a barrage of Doom/Sludge Metal heaviness with a Psychedelic Stoner Metal tapestry merging into down-tuned Sonic based Progressive passages with a certain Shoegaze or Doomgaze effect being utilised to great effect.
The vocals are a collection of different styles such as Harsh Growls, Clean Vocals and Gloomy chants which allows GRIN to play areas of heavy distorted and uplifting Post-Stoner grooves they haven't played before. The music is perhaps more Industrial based as well with echoes of sound heard on their previous records being played at different moments of the album. GRIN also employ a dark Lovecraftian story based element to the lyrics and their Spaced Out Post-Metal delivery on tracks such as Hush, Calice, Midnight Blue Sorrow, Talons, Neon Skies, Deathbringers and The Tempest Of Team impressing the most with their bleak cinematic vision.
GRIN's style of dark and despair based Fuzzy Sonic Interludes has a violent and aggressive "Doom-Pop" energy which reminds me of TORCHE and FLOOR in places but all done within GRIN's highly original style. There's quite an uplifting energy to be found within this album even when the harsh vocals take centre stage with the music becoming more Post-Stoner or Post-Doom based. These parts are quite reminiscent of the other band SLOWSHINE that Jan and Sabine are involved with.
The record allows GRIN to constantly change their vocal movements and melodic tone throughout the majority of the track with a Progressive Post-Metal sound becoming the more dominant force on the later stages of the album. Sixteen tracks is a lot to get through but GRIN deserve credit for allowing every individual song to have their own identity and feel with epic flashes of Psychedelic brilliance that matches the bold lyrics GRIN have written here. The album can be quite experimental with that down-tuned Psychedelic energy which even transforms into areas of Industrial sounding Glitches and Ambient Post-Rock themes.
Hush once again has excellent and richly observed production values which is all handled yet again by Jan himself like all the other great releases he's been involved with over the last few years. Even with the album's lo-fi delivery and stripped back approach, you can feel every note being played at you like GRIN's lives depended on this. This is an action-packed ride into the dark vortex of Psychedelic Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal with GRIN proving why they're one of the most inventive bands within the underground scene who are masters of their own creative sludgy and spaced out domain.
Hush is AOTY material even this very early on in 2024 and with GRIN perhaps releasing their heaviest, catchiest and most defining work to date.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to GRIN and Against PR for the promo.
Hush will be be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via The Lasting Dose Records from February 16th 2024.
Links
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