Soulraper

The description of 'demo' is misleading when it comes to this release, the one and only, of the Finish band Grimm. In 1998 it saw the light of day, but there is something that makes it stand aside from a lot releases in due to a small 'flaw': the band cannot really decide what they actually want to play. Soulraper, the title track and opener of demo, has some death metal influences, Kun Taivas Kylvi Puneyden is midtempo black with a neat interlude in the middle, while Tulkoon Hanen Valtakuntansa has a touch of Arckanum's spirit and Shamaatae’s vocals; the two additional tracks are cover versions of Enochian Crescent songs, taken from the Telocvovim album and should be discussed separately.

Grimm's music has aggressive as well as melodic facets and it depends on the song whether they can be heard or not. The riffs are simple composed and used in longer motive structures, so one might suggest the music to be plain and boring at times. Luckily, the good performance by the vocalist is able to compensate this a bit and keep the fascination up; especially on Tulkoon Hanen Valtakuntansa this works nice. With a mixture of scream/croaking sound Lugul Sargon is able to add some atmosphere to the music. A bass can, due to its muffled sound, only be heard vaguely in the background. The drums, also the bass-drum, are able to add some facets to the music, despite the raw and unpolished sound as well as the dominance of the guitars. The motives played by the percussions are interesting and add some drive to the music; not too complex in style, but certainly able to support the compositions.

Cover versions:
When compared to with the original ones performed by Enochian Crescent, then those interpretations are pretty weak. Not only does the production make it hard to enjoy the cover versions, also the reduction of some facets: especially the drums do not offer all the elements played by the more famous Finish band. To play music of other bands is always a tricky thing and Grimm find it challenging on their demo to reach the quality of the original.

Final bits and bytes
The music is neat and even though the production is a bit muddy at times, it is possible to grasp some of the spirit and atmosphere; the drums have a very raw sound for instance. Soulraper can be listened to occasionally and without worry, but a high status can this releases hardly achieve in a collection. Too inconsistent and too large a degree of various styles is covered on this demo.

Recommended: Tulkoon Hanen Valtakuntansa