I kind of hate the concept of “benefit of the doubt” when it comes to reviewing music. I don’t know how often I’ve heard a fellow reviewer make a statement about how an album has to be heard at least X amount of times before it can be sufficiently rated. What ever happened to trusting our guts? I think in most cases, the desperate search for redeeming qualities leads to reviewers reaching, piling said “benefits of the doubt” on top of each other to avoid giving a harsh score.
I knew immediately what I liked about Grendel’s Sÿster new album Katabasis into the Abaton / Abstieg in die Traumkammer. The throwback-y sound, a concoction of 70s folk rock, epic doom, and not-quite Iron-Maiden-but-quite-heavier-than-Thin-Lizzy proto metal, is unique; the band’s commitment to folk inspired melodies, paired with an unusually upbeat tone for this type of metal is pleasant, rare, and feels fresh despite being almost entirely imported from a past decade. Katabasis into the Abaton / Abstieg in die Traumkammer is not an album comprised of borrowed and upcycled material. The band often put in the extra work, constructing melodic phrases that are longer than one would expect. Small differences in delivery, phrasing and writing make repeats more interesting than they would usually be. Even when the material is simple, like on “Rose Arbor”, a song sporting a Slough Feg style gallop over an almost Renaissance Faire type melody, the band find ways to make it interesting and inject it with forward momentum. Yet, as so often is with these proto and trad metal acts, the vocals are what breaks it. As the resident trad metal guy, it pains me that so many of these acts fail at the exact same spot for me, and that the usual fan of the style doesn’t seem to mind it – meaning this trend will likely not change anytime soon. Lead singer Caro‘s voice reminds me of some of the worst trends in German music. While I am sure that her vocal performance is mostly modeled after 70s prog bands (Amon Düül, anyone?) – it comes off as more of a schlagerized folk performance than anything else. And this is something I had to endure way too often gigging at such environments.
I was ready to drop the album and write the review, when it suddenly hit me. So far, I have omitted the fact that the album is bilingual and available in two full versions, one in English and one in German. I knew that I would open myself up to criticism. I can already imagine the argument: maybe her vocal performance is better in German. Maybe the songs have been conceptualized in German. I had only listened to the English version multiple times. I find myself listening to the German version yet one more time, my will broken. None of the issues are fixed. Sure, the songs sound different and I am inclined to say that they even sound a tad better in German, but it frankly feels like some work better in English, while others work better in German. Why didn’t the band construct the album in a way where for each song, the superior version was kept, is beyond me. The answer is likely a lack of editing, and once again, as suspected, giving the benefit of the doubt did not fix any issues. Yet, I am inclined to stick with Grendel’s Sÿster. I doubt I will ever like the vocals, but maybe I can get accustomed to them. The musical side of this is quite cool. If you are, unlike me, less allergic to an off kilter clean vocal performance, check this out.
