Written in Blood

I really struggle with symphonic black metal sometimes. It seems like bands struck from the same mould as Anorexia Nervosa and Limbonic Art have far more replay value to offer, insofar as more depth musically and more layers to peel away whilst perusing toward the rotten core. A cinematic tour de force on the same level as modern Dimmu Borgir is difficult to replicate with just one keyboardist, but the more spartan alternative is certainly feasible for most. The problem is that most of these bands eschew proper riffing in favor of what they intend as atmosphere, putting even more burden on the synths to deliver. A hypnotic dirge here or there doesn't cut the mustard for me, and Finland's Gloomy Grim are for the most part no exception to this rule. A band that has quietly amassed a rather prolific catalogue, they released Written in Blood fifteen years ago; late enough for the second wave to be played out, but before Death Cult Armageddon's excess and vapidity soured the style for most average listeners.

Gloomy Grim struggle finding a balance here, with production values that feel all over the place, to be frank. The keyboards go from suffocatingly in-your-face to background noise the moment the guitars phase in; whoever equalized this album did not do their job properly. Drums lack low end, sapping the otherwise competent blasting sections of their balance. The result is an oftentimes top heavy sound, an imbalance that could be forgiven if the riffs had enough bite. Sadly, they are nearly as rote as the cheap Casio choir effect that dominates the record. Gloomy Grim don't sound farcical, but I was never once compelled to move my head to this music. Agathon does admirably as a multi-instrumentalist though, and despite some fairly standard drumming patterns, he delivers that languid pseudo-croaking vocal style very well. The keyboards are also played competently, but they don't seem to have much purpose outside of filling space. The occasional grand piano run perked my ears up, but the heavy reliance on synths never truly pays off here.

Written in Blood simply lacks a "killer app" if you will. Everything sounds second-rate and conceptually meager. The guitars feature some dirty, soiled sonic grit but the chugging patterns seem sapped of their virulence. The balancing is all over the place, again owing largely to whoever produced this thing. It doesn't feel like cornball "carnival" symphonic black metal that I so despise, but it also lacks the manic, salacious aggression of something like Arcturus. "Black as the Pit" feels like an Enthrone Darkness Triumphant castoff, which is about the best Gloomy Grim can hope for at this point. Written in Blood bears slightly more semblance to Norway's Odium, complete with the average synth assault and lack of identity throughout. The band is also crippled by what they interpret as doomy dirges, replete with random stops and silence. I'm sorry, these don't work either. It just comes off as hackneyed and half-assed.

Gloomy Grim is still plugging along, releasing The Age of Aquarius just this year. From what I heard of that record, things haven't changed much. I want to say that these guys are slightly above average, but I can't even make that claim without seriously doubting myself. This exemplifies why symphonic black metal fails most of the time. More tremolo riffage would be a good place to start, but otherwise Gloomy Grim fail to evoke the elder daemons they so proudly kneel before. Back to the drawing board.