The long-awaited debut full-length album from Grendel’s Sÿster is finally here and we’re beyond proud to present it to you. After two fantastic EPs that build up anticipation in the epic heavy metal scene, the three-member band from Stuttgart reminded us to “love metal and hate fascism” (a statement that needs to be heard strongly again in Germany these days with the shocking constant rise of the far right) present us with Katabasis into the Abaton/Abstieg in die Traumkammer an album that is again bilingually presented, in English and German sung versions. It certainly must be admired that vocalist Caro goes into the trouble of recording each album twice, a choice that allows us to appreciate the musical qualities of both languages and it has to be said that she does both as great.
Katabasis into the Abaton is translated from Greek as descending into Άβατον, the holy place in a church that is not allowed for the faithful to walk upon, therefore we could say that the title prepares us for the element of transcendence of imposed limits. The lyrical content is undoubtedly one of the great strengths of the band, with pagan wisdom emanating through the pages of the album, which is filled with references to Greek and Germanic mythology. But where epic metal is often solely expressed with the language of the triumph of power, Grendel’s Sÿster also has a lot of questions that come with it. What is glory, who gets the spoils.
They present the follies of kings and sorcerers, and what happens when the “golden key does not fit”. The band’s simple and effective melodic epic metal style hasn’t changed and perfectly serves the poetry, centered around supporting the voice. This less-is-more approach proves to be rewarding again as they sound the strongest that they’re ever been, focusing on delivering the essentials of a good melody and allowing the songwriting to shine.
Katabasis into the Abaton is as we expected an excellent album from a band that clearly puts a lot of effort into making heavy metal music that will stand the passing of time. Congrats to them!
⚔️ Grendel’s Sÿster ⚔️
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