“Galaxia Infinitum” marks the first EP for the black/death
metal band Grethor out of the United States. After a couple of demos, the band
unleashed this 22-minute offering of extreme metal that is equal parts
strange and heavy. As is probably already apparent to you, the band gives
off a pretty strong imagery even before hearing the music. Once diving into the
tunes after a short intro, you will find that “Galaxia Infinitum” is really
nothing that hasn’t been done before. This is a pretty noisy release, and will
definitely please those who hate crystal clear production. With that said, the
sound quality is by no means unbearable, and is actually quite appropriate for
black metal. This is best displayed in the first couple of minutes of “Anomaly
X”, where the band plays some relatively slower, melodic riffs that should
appeal to fans of more atmospheric black metal. The drums are surprisingly
leisurely in this track, as they mostly try to compliment the drawn-out riffs
of the guitars. Vocally, this singer takes a bit of a strange approach. He
definitely has a solid low range, but he also has some strange almost
animalistic higher sounds coming out of him at some points. I can’t even imagine how
one would go about making those kinds of vocals.
The other three songs are mostly similar to the first full
track. The band straddles the line between metal’s two most extreme subgenres
with relative ease, and like many of the bands in those subgenres, they
unfortunately do little to stand out. Across all four tracks, there is rarely a
riff that will incite headbanging, nor a melody that will remain with you when
the EP is over, but that really isn’t the point of this atmospheric style. Grethor
is a band much like Burzum, Dissection, or Drudkh, where the quality comes from
the feelings created by the unresolved tension of certain chords. At times, however, they can get a bit more traditional. “Tenebrous”, for example, has some more
standard thrash-style riffing, but ultimately the song comes back to the
atmosphere. Another example is "Hypatia", where the band speeds up considerably and incorporates plenty of blast beats. While everything about “Galaxia Infinitum” is very well-done, it is
certainly not a release for everyone. The sadistic sounds of the vocalist are
intriguing at first, but quickly turn to ear piercing as the record goes on. In
addition, the general noisiness of the record can make it difficult to listen
to at times. There is certainly an audience for this sound, and Grethor will
manage to captivate that audience, but this record is not particularly my
style.
Highlights
"Hypatia"
Final Rating
3.5/5 or 70%.