Gràb are a German black metal band and this is their second album.
Containing ex-members of Dark Fortress and Winterfylleth, Gràb play classic black metal with a heart that belongs to the 90s. They do this it exceedingly well too.
Kremess is a 56-minute album of riffs, dark melody, spectral atmosphere, and charismatic and varied vocals. It’s a strong and engaging album, benefiting from masterful songwriting and compelling delivery. Gràb structure and arrange their music with skill and attention to detail, and bring their songs to life as they craft absorbing blackened soundscapes with ease.
The music is enriched through a range of ideas and sounds. The core style is old-school black metal, but from the late 90s, where bands started to increasingly push themselves and their musical vision. In this way, the album boasts many nuances and creative additions to its central theme, such as in the use of dulcimer, synths, acoustic guitars, viola, flute, and choral cleans.
Kremess is layered and emotive, thick in atmosphere and ripe with infectious cold dread. Each song has its own identity, weaving thematic wreaths around itself so that the various influences manifest in different ways. Kremess is very much a full, well-rounded, and complete album, but each song works wonderfully in isolation too.
This really is top quality black metal artistry. Kremess is an extremely satisfying and enjoyable record, one of emotive depth, atmospheric weight, and cold black metal steel. Gràb have seriously impressed.
Fans of the early forms of bands such as Enslaved, Gehenna, Satyricon, and Ulver really need to pay attention to Gràb.
Wonderbox Metal 