Grand Sunraven

As we get ready to move into December and start closing in on the end of the year, I wanted to get up one more post for a new release before moving into a bunch of posts for older records that I've recently picked up. Get ready, because we are going back in time for next month.

Ten years ago, or so, Grand Magus were kind of a big deal for me. My friend, Sandwell, introduced me to the band and at the time they took over my life. I could not get enough of that band. I followed them closely over the next six years or so, and rushed to pick up their new records and back catalog. As we moved through the Covid years, I kind of lost interest in them... don't get it twisted, I still loved the band, but they weren't releasing anything new and I started paying attention to other things... and I forgot about them for a bit. Earlier this year, when I heard that they had a new album on the way, it ignited that fire again, and I rushed to preoreder the record. I was so excited that I ordered from the Nuclear Blast European store to make sure that I got my hands on the best vinyl option. The yellow/orange sunburst was limited to 500, and looks as good as I'd hoped.

Man, Sunraven hits exactly as I'd hoped it would. New records from Fu Manchu and The Obsessed have helped reignite my interest in this style of music this year, so when the new Grand Magus album dropped, I was primed and ready. This thing had me hooked from the start. Great traditional metal, and is sure to be one of my favorites of the year.

Wolf God

Anytime that Grand Magus release a new album, you can pretty much guarantee that it is going to make my Top 10 list for the year. The band plays that straight forward, traditional metal sound that will hook me in every damn time.

Grand Magus give us more of the same with their ninth album, Wolf God...but I really like this groove that they have been in with their last few records, so I'm not complaining. They have a sound, and they haven't strayed far from it with their last few albums, so at this point you know what you are going to get. No surprises, just some killer Manowar influenced metal!

Blue vinyl is limited to 300 copies. The same number were pressed for both red and yellow, but for me, blue was the way to go here.

Sword Songs

A couple years ago, Grand Magus released my favorite Metal album of 2014 with Triumph And Power. Needless to say, I was excited to hear they were releasing their follow up LP this year with Sword Songs.

Even with the preview track, Varangian, released back in March, it was kind of pointless, because I knew that this album was a blind buy for me. No need to waste time checking it out...I headed straight to Nuclear Blast to preorder the most limited vinyl option.

Metallic gold may be one of the worst looking vinyl colors. It always looks like shit. Still, since it was limited to 300, it meant that I had to buy it, and lie to myself that it was the best option for coordinating with the front cover artwork.

No matter the vinyl color, this record hits hard. Traditional Heavy Metal that Grand Magus does best. Another winner.

Monumental Magus

I've slowly been picking up the Grand Magus reissues that Rise Above did back at the end of 2014. Over a year since their release, and I'm finally picking up the final piece with the band's second LP, Monument.

When it comes to Grand Magus, the popular consensus is that the band's earlier, Doom influenced albums are the best...and I am clearly in the minority, as I prefer their more recent string of records where they take more of a traditional Metal approach. Because of this, I've not really spent much time with the first few Grand Magus albums, and without really spending much time with Monument, I've kind of considered it the band's weakest outing.

After spinning this piece of plastic the past couple of days, I may need to rethink it's place in the Grand Magus rankings. This record is much stronger than I gave it credit for...even if I still don't know what the fuck is going on with that album cover.

100 pressed on clear vinyl.

First four albums, all on clear vinyl. Lookin' good!

Iron Magus

Back in December, Rise Above reissued the first four Grand Magus albums on vinyl. I was late to the party, and considered myself extremely lucky that the most limited pressings on clear vinyl were still available when I finally stepped up to place my order a couple months later. I grabbed the Wolf's Return LP at the time, and imagined that by the time I got back to their store to place another order, both Iron Will and Monument would long be sold out of the clear vinyl.

When I placed my order for the Sheavy vinyl in April, I couldn't have been more shocked to find the Grand Magus albums were still available.

Sandwell introduced me to Grand Magus through his blog with his post for the Iron Will LP back in 2008. Seven years later, here I am picking up my own copy of the album on clear vinyl. Man, what a solid slab of metal.

Clear vinyl for this pressing is limited to 100.

I wonder if my luck will hold out long enough to grab Monument on clear vinyl in the near future.

Wolf's Repress

Back in December, Rise Above announced that they had repressed the first four Grand Magus albums, and they were available in the label's webstore. I was in a tight spot with money at the time, and since there weren't any cool extras with the more limited pressing, I decided to pass on them at the time.

Limited Rise Above releases tend to sell out quickly, so when I found myself in the store picking up the new Lucifer 7 inch, I was surprised to find that the Grand Magus clear vinyl pressings were still available. Since I was already buying something, it would be foolish to not add one more record to the order.

While I'm a big fan of Grand Magus, somehow I'd not heard their Wolf's Return album, so I figured that this was a good opportunity to remedy that situation.

While I initially wasn't too keen on shelling out the extra money to buy from Rise Above and secure the limited clear vinyl, now that I have one album, I suddenly have a burning desire to own the rest of them. Hopefully I can make it back to the Rise Above store before it is too late.

A Grand Triumph

I know that we aren't even three months into the year, but it doesn't change my opinion that Grand Magus probably just released what will be my favorite Metal album for the year.

When Sandwell first introduced me to Grand Magus a couple of years ago, I wasn't really feeling it. Because I trust opinion on all things Metal, I didn't give up on it immediately, and over time they started to sink their claws into me. By the time I picked up The Hunt last year, I was full on hooked on what this band was doing.

When it was announced that a new album was due this year, I eagerly waited to hear what Grand Magus would deliver.

My expectations were set pretty high, and could not resist the urge to listen to a preview when the video for the title track was posted. I was a bit let down when the song initially started, but by the end of it I was completely sucked in...singing along to the chorus and throwing up the devil horns. Hail!

Now, I loved The Hunt, but Triumph And Power somehow improves on the Grand Magus sound. This album consumes me, and I can't get enough of it right now.

When it came time to order the new album, no expense was spared, and I made sure to grab the limited vinyl pressing from Nuclear Blast Germany. Hand numbered and limited to 250 on white vinyl.

Late To The Hunt

I'd downloaded the Grand Magus album Iron Will a couple of years ago, but it pretty much just sat on my iPod collecting digital dust. It was good, but it just wasn't something that I was in the mood to spend a lot of time with. When the band released their new album, The Hunt, last year, I read a couple of reviews that weren't very flattering, so I planned on ignoring it. Then Sandwell posted about it on his blog, and absolutely loved the album. Fuck. Now I was going to have to check it out.

After downloading it, I found that it didn't really do much for me. Still, fuckin' Sandwell liked it, and because I trust his opinion on all things Metal, I stuck with it. I loaded it onto my iPod playlist, and would give it some playing time while I would go out for a six to eight mile runs. I put on a lot of miles last Fall, and over time, The Hunt started to grow on me.

As we worked our way into 2013, I found myself consumed with Metal, and listening to a lot of Grand Magus. I knew it was time to finally buy myself a copy.

Even though I was late to the party, I was still able to grab the same limited pressing that Sandwell got last year. I found a US distributor that still had one copy left in stock, and gladly bought it. Number 231 out of 250 on red vinyl.

Grand Magus On Clear

The first time that I'd heard of Grand Magus was through Sandwell. That guy has turned me on to so many new bands, I've lost count of them all. When he first posted about Grand Magus on his blog back in 2008, I paid little attention to it. However, over the summer of 2011 I began to worship at the altar of Rise Above Records. Ghost, Blood Ceremony, Gentleman's Pistols, The Gates Of Slumber...I could not get enough, so I started looking into the labels older releases. I remembered Sandwell's praise of Grand Magus' Iron Will LP, so I downloaded it to give it a listen. I probably listened to only two songs. Grand Magus didn't have the doomy sound that I was looking for, so I didn't bother giving it much of chance. Still, Mark liked them, so I kept the album on my iPod with the expectation that I'd check it out some other day.

When the band released their new album, The Hunt, in 2012, I was prepared to just ignore it. Again, Sandwell posted about the record on his blog which forced me to download it and give it a listen. This time, I committed myself to spend more time with it than I did with Iron Will. I added it to my iPod playlist and would listen to it while I went out for a run. The album took some time to sink in. It wasn't the Thrash or Doom that I'd been listening to. No, this was straight up Heavy Metal. Once it settled in that Grand Magus were cut from the same cloth as Maiden and Priest, and not Slayer or Exodus, I found that I really enjoyed it.

In January, I was making an attempt to pick up a few new 2012 releases that I'd missed last year. The newest Grand Magus album, The Hunt, was on that list. My first stop was the excellent distro All That Is Heavy, but the album was no longer in stock. They did, however, have one copy left of the self titled Grand Magus album...on clear vinyl. Rise Above Records no longer had this in stock...in fact they didn't have any info on their website for the clear vinyl...so I grabbed a copy before it was too late.

This album has a bit more of a doom sound than The Hunt, but damn, this is some great Metal..