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GRETHOR
Cloaked In Decay EP

Self-released (2015)
Rating: 8.5/10

This has to be one of my favourite extreme metal releases this year so far, Cloaked In Decay being the new six-track EP from this North Virginian quintet. I always admire bands who try to bring something new to the table, and Grethor is one of those intriguing groups with so much to offer within their sound.

They formed in 2007, but so far have only released two demos (2008’s Graethor and 2009’s Monody For Artemis) and another EP (2013’s Galaxia Infinitum) previous to this. The line-up consists of vocalist Marcus Lawrence, guitarists Mike Lewis and Brian Frost, bassist Nick Rothe, and drummer Anthony Rouse.

And so we come to this new slab of extreme metal, and it’s one that delivers in so many aspects and remains refreshing throughout. First and foremost, Grethor’s sound is a strange coming together of styles; the vocals exist as a black metal sort of yappy screech and at times veer into deathlier grunts, while the musical backdrop is a bewildering amalgamation of death, grind, black and thrash metal – the overall result being a complex hammering that keeps you guessing through its entirety.

We get songs which begin in a somewhat harsh, icy fashion, only to drift into jarring bouts of speeds laced with devilish melody. Then the next minute we find ourselves being battered by a grinding, gruelling death metal barrage that slows into a murky, menacing traipse of chugging guitars and darker, rasping vocal incantations. But where the combo really surprises is with some of the jazzier, epileptic segments; bringing forward weird chord arrangements, blast-beat drums and maniacal vocal squawks which bring to mind the insanity created by John Zorn’s Naked City.

For the most part though, this EP is an extreme composition at the zanier end of the death metal spectrum, but with one foot very much in the avantgarde arena. The likes of ‘Somnia Malum Infinitum’ and ‘Hemispheres Decaying’ are both bewildering and yet infectious, possibly at times – musically anyway – hinting at that Gorguts diet of misshapen, unorthodox structures and jolting, spasmodic percussion.

There’s still time for fleshy riffage, however – as with ‘Misery Of Ignorance’ – while a track such as ‘Organic Tomb’ serves up a doomier climate with its dank guitar roll. Whatever cacophony emerges from guitar, bass and drum though, it’s still no match for Lawrence’s perplexing squeals, grunts and yaps which I find fit the music so well.

Cloaked In Decay is one of those records that will take several spins just to appreciate the technicality of it all, and then will take a further few spins just to get into each track. The jagged arrangements pulverise throughout and there’s no out-running those complex percussive slam and cymbal hisses as Lawrence’s vicious yowls slash at your back like a razor.

Try to categorise however much you try, but Grethor refuse to sit comfortably in any genre you cough up. Instead, just sit back, relax and succumb to this vibrant, befuddling and above all vicious assault on the grey matter. Grethor… a name to look out for on the circuit.

Neil Arnold

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